Family time
by purplecat21
Summary: The team finds themselves with some much needed vacation time to spend with Hotch after he gets de-aged.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own criminal minds, also no Will and Henry or Jack and Hailey in this one.

Chapter 1

After finding 5 dead bodies the team finally figured out the unsub was a man named Vincent Gregory. As they got out of their cars at the address Garcia had given them, Hotch directed them.

"Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi, take the back, JJ, Reid with me"

The agents went their separate ways, Hotch walked through the house with Reid and JJ clearing each room. Hotch came finally to the last door, quietly opening it he saw a set of stairs leading down, he held his gun and flashlight out in front of him as he started down.

"Freeze! FBI!"He shouted as he saw a movement at the bottom of the stairs.

Vince threw something at Hotch as he raced out a side door. A powder filled light bulb exploded against Hotch's bulletproof vest and he had no time to react as he inhaled the powder.

He saw JJ and Reid reach the bottom of the stairs as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Hotch!" Reid cried as he rushed to his boss's side just as hotch started convulsing and JJ ran out through the door. There was nothing he could do as he watched his boss start to get smaller before his eyes.

"Morgan's got him" JJ started as she entered the room and saw a baby lying in front of Reid.

"What?..."

"I'm not sure how... but it's Hotch " Reid started as he carefully picked up the baby and held him to his chest.

JJ looked around the room and found some notebooks, "looks like he was trying to reverse the aging process" The basement was full of chemicals and baby supplies.

Reid quickly found a baby blanket and wrapped the baby up. Hotch looked up at Reid with a forlorn expression and burst into tears.

JJ had found some diapers and a small onesie. "Give him to me" she said as she took the crying baby and laid him down to dress him. Morgan and Prentiss returned with Vince in handcuffs.

"Whoa, where did you find the baby?"Morgan asked

"Believe it or not, that's Hotch" Reid said as he was carefully bagging up the broken glass from the light bulb. "We should get this tested and see exactly what was in it"

Morgan turned on Vince "what the hell did you do?"He yelled "how do we fix this?"

Vince just laughed "You can't fix it." He started "but it should start to wear off in 1-2 weeks" he quickly added as Morgan grabbed the front of his shirt. "When it does start to wear off, he should double in age every day until he's back to his normal age"

Hotch had gone quiet while Vince was talking but now burst into tears again. He did not want to be stuck like this for the next few weeks!

"Shhhh" JJ said as she rocked the upset baby in her arms "it's ok Hotch, shhhh, its ok"

The team decided to split up. Rossi, Morgan and Reid took Vince to the local police station while JJ and Emily took Hotch back to the hotel. On the way the ladies stopped at a store to buy enough baby supplies to last them until they got home. Hotch just cried miserably the whole time.

"Do you want me to install the car seat now?" Emily asked as she was putting the bags into the car

"No the hotel is only 2 minutes away from here so we can do it later after I get Hotch settled"

Hotch was still crying as JJ carried him into the room. She layed him on the bed and leaned over him so he could see her face.

"Hotch you need to calm down. If you still have your adult mind then you know that this is only temporary. You'll make yourself sick if you don't calm down" JJ picked him up again and held him on her shoulder as his cries started to slow down and turned into occasional sobs instead.

"You know that we will all take good care of you until you return to normal" She said.

Emily finished bringing the bags inside and walked over to JJ, "hand him over, I don't have a clue how to make baby formula so that's your job" She laughed.

"What makes you think I do?" JJ asked laughing

After working out how to mix the powdered formula JJ took Hotch from Emily and layed him in her arms. As Hotch saw the bottle approaching his mouth he turned his head.

"Aaron you need to eat, and right now this is the only way" JJ coaxed

Hotch was beyond embarrassed to be in this situation, if only he had reacted quicker and gotten out of the way, then none of this would have happened. He decided that JJ was right and he needed to eat so he closed his eyes and drank the milk and tried to imagine being anywhere but here.

Hotch quickly fell asleep while drinking and stirred when the bottle was taken out of his mouth,

"Quick hand me that pacifier we brought" JJ said to Emily. JJ took the pacifier and gave it to Hotch and he quickly settled down into a peaceful sleep.

JJ laid him on the bed and then went to make some coffee.

"Yes Garcia he's fine...really" Emily was saying " We are leaving first thing in the morning...yes you can go shopping...we'll need enough stuff for the next few weeks until he is back to normal...yes I'll send you some pics...he's sleeping...yes Rossi is going to talk to Strauss...ok, I'll call you later...bye." Emily laughed as she got off the phone "Hotch is going to have everything he needs and more by the time we get home!"

She quickly snapped a few pics of their boss lying on the bed surrounded by pillows and sucking on a pacifier and sent them to Garcia

"OMG, OMG, OMG! He is soooooo adorable! Shopping, here I come!" Came the quick reply.

"When the others get back we will need to arrange who's going to look after him" JJ said as she handed Emily a cup of coffee.

"That will be the hard part" She answered.

The boys brought Chinese for dinner when they returned,

"How is he?" Rossi asked as he looked over at the sleeping baby on the bed as the team sat down to eat.

"He took awhile to calm down, and then he had a bottle and fell asleep and has been asleep since then. What did Strauss say?"JJ asked

"She wants to have a meeting with us all tomorrow when we get back. She was sceptical at first but I think I convinced her that I'm not insane and I'm telling the truth but she wants to see him with her own two eyes and then make a judgement" Rossi replied.

"Well the next problem we have is sorting out who is going to look after him until he starts aging again?" Morgan said

"Well I was thinking that we could all stay at my place, I have plenty of room for us all and I can have a nursery set up for Aaron by the time we get back." Rossi suggested. "That way we are all there to look after him and help out."

"Sounds good to me" they all agreed

Aaron woke up to the sounds of his team talking and started crying as he spat out the pacifier and remembered the situation he was in.

Rossi walked over and picked him up, "hey there Aaron, we were just talking about you. We were saying that it might be a good idea for us all to stay at my mansion and look after you. What do you think?"

Aarons only response was to cry, Rossi tried to rock him but when that didn't work he passed him over to JJ. "I have some calls to make if we want everything to be ready, goodnight everyone."

The others took that as their cue to leave too, "Good luck with Hotch tonight ladies, see you in the morning, if you need anything, call Rossi" Morgan laughed as he and Reid left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aaron was up and down all night because he was either wet or hungry or both. JJ and Emily took turns tending to him and then getting him back to sleep.

When the alarm finally went off in the morning Aaron was still asleep and they managed to get ready and get him changed without waking him up. They prepared a bottle for Aaron and then headed down for breakfast with the rest of the team.

"Good morning ladies" Rossi greeted "How did you all sleep?"

"Not well, Aaron was up and down all night" yawned Emily

"He looks pretty relaxed now" observed Reid.

Prentiss handed the sleeping baby to Reid "well then genius boy, it's your turn"

Hotch woke up and found himself in Reid's arms. He looked up at Reid and frowned, he knew that Reid had no experience with babies and was surprised that he even wanted to hold him while he was like this.

"Don't worry Hotch, I brought a book on looking after babies yesterday on the way back to the hotel and read it last night so I'm confident that I know what I'm doing" Reid said as he saw Hotch looking at him. "JJ hand me his bottle please"

Morgan snapped a photo of Reid feeding Hotch and sent it off to Garcia.

When he had finished the bottle Reid put Hotch over his shoulder and patted his back until he let out a huge burp.

"See I told you I knew what I was doing" Reid said as the whole team watched him.

"Good job pretty boy!"Morgan laughed.

After breakfast the team made their way to the jet. Once they were in the air and Hotch was sleeping soundly in Rossi's arms they called Garcia to let her know they would all be staying at Rossi's mansion.

"Sounds good to me, we will need a mansion to have enough room for all the things I brought" Garcia said happily

"I hope you haven't gone too crazy Penelope?" Rossi smiled

"No I just got the essential items but with babies there are a lot of essentials" she replied laughing. "I just can't wait to see him so I can cuddle the stuffing out of him"

"We have to survive our meeting with Strauss first" Said Emily

When they arrived they met with Strauss in the conference room.

"How is this even possible?" She started as she walked over to look at Hotch who was lying in JJ's arms.

"Were not sure but we have sent the pieces of glass from the light bulb to be tested" Rossi replied.

"I just don't know what to think of this" Strauss said as she took the wide awake baby from JJ.

Strauss looked at Aaron who tried to return her look with one of his famous Hotch glares.

"Ok I believe you" She said after a few minutes. "The director has already authorized your time off until this situation resolves itself. I expect you all to get your paperwork finished and then you will be free to go. One of you may leave now to take Aaron home, I expect to be updated on his progress."

She looked at Aaron again, "Aaron, I can only imagine how hard this is for you but do try to relax and enjoy the time off not having any adult worries or pressures on you"

Strauss handed Hotch back to JJ and walked out of the room.

"The only person who doesn't have any paperwork to do is you baby girl" said Morgan

"That's fine by me, my baby bossman and I can go shopping for a stroller and then enjoy some quality cuddle time!" she laughed.

Aaron was happy they had been given some time off but he was not sure how he was supposed to enjoy this like Strauss had suggested. All of a sudden the baby part of his brain took control and he started crying, he was wet and was starting to get hungry again.

"Oh my little pumpkin, don't cry" Garcia said as she took Hotch from JJ

"He's probably just hungry, and he is due for a diaper change too" JJ said as Garcia tried to calm him down.

JJ took out a pacifier and gave it to Hotch; he glared at her but did not spit it out.

Garcia took him to her office to shut down all her babies and stayed in there to feed Hotch his bottle and change his diaper, then she went to Rossi's office to exchange keys with him.

"The car seat is already in my car and here are the house keys" he said

"Here are my car keys, all the essential baby items are in there so you can all help me unpack them when you get home" Garcia said and made her way out of the office.

The last thing Hotch wanted was to be out in public while he was like this but he reasoned that no one would recognise him so it would probably be ok. Garcia laid him in every stroller in the store as she tested them all out. She finally choose one that was surprisingly comfortable.

"Ohh, he's adorable!" the sales lady gushed as Garcia paid for her purchases.

"Thanks, we think so" Garcia answered.

The lady then started touching his hand and talking baby talk to him. That was Aaron's breaking point; he would not stand baby talk! He started screaming and Garcia chuckled

"Adorable when he's not screaming. Its ok baby, were done now" Garcia said softly to him as she gave him his pacifier and walked out to the car.

When Hotch woke up he was still in his car seat but he was inside someone's house, Rossi's house he presumed. He looked around and couldn't hear or see anyone and started to think that he had been left on his own even though he knew his team would never leave him.

As he started crying Garcia walked into the room holding a bottle.

"Its ok baby, we're at Rossi's place, I only left you in your seat while you were sleeping so I didn't wake you." Garcia said as she lifted him out of his seat and took him over to the couch so she could feed him. The whole time she was feeding him she talked about all the things they could do with him while he was a baby and all the fun they would have.

He knew that Garcia was trying to cheer him up but he was still feeling sorry for himself.

As if she could read his thoughts, "you just need to relax and let us take care of you, I know that you probably hate all of this but we love you and we are happy to do it. Think of us as your humble servants and you can be waited on hand and foot like a little prince!" she exclaimed as she kissed him on the head and cuddled him to her.

The team arrived home not long before it was time for dinner and while Rossi cooked, the rest of them unpacked all of the things that Penelope had brought for Hotch.

After they had all eaten too much it was time for Aaron to have a bath.

"Bath time Aaron" JJ said as she took the baby from Morgan.

"I'll help" said Garcia as she followed JJ upstairs

Hotch did not like the idea of being bathed my his team mates but there was no point in crying about it so he just glared at Garcia as she undressed him and JJ prepared his bath.

"I'm sorry honey but that look is just not scary at the moment" laughed Penelope.

JJ held him in the bath with one hand and washed him with the other while Garcia took some adorable pictures.

After he was washed and dried JJ put him in a blue and green dinosaur onesie that Penelope declared was "absolutely adorable" then they headed downstairs where Emily had prepared a bottle for him.

JJ took him upstairs and sat in the rocking chair with him while he drank his milk. The bath had really tired him out so he let his baby side take over as he relaxed in JJ's arms and fell asleep.

Hotch was woken up in the middle of the night by a crying baby. When he opened his eyes he realized that it was him crying and that made him cry even harder.

Before he knew it, JJ was there picking him up and putting his pacifier back in his mouth. Being in JJ's arms felt nice and safe and warm and before he knew it he was sound asleep again.

The next morning, JJ carried Aaron downstairs and passed him into Rossi's waiting arms.

"Good morning bambino! Come with me and see what Garcia has brought you" Rossi said as he carried Aaron into the living room.

The living room was filled with baby stuff, there was a baby chair that he could sit in and play mats on the floor as well as baby books and toys and stuffed animals.

"This way you will be able to have some time to yourself without being constantly held" Rossi said.

JJ had made a bottle while Rossi was showing Hotch his new stuff but as she entered the room, Morgan took the bottle from her "My turn" he said taking the baby from Rossi and sitting on the couch to feed him.

"Never would have guessed that I liked kids hey Hotch?"

Hotch started to wonder what else he didn't know about his team.

Once he had been fed and burped Morgan put him in the baby swing and carried him into the kitchen so they could keep an eye on him while they had breakfast.

Aaron listened to the team talking for a while but his attention started wandering before long and he found himself focusing on the animals hanging above him instead.

The rest of the day passed with Hotch alternating between lying on the floor watching movies or playing peek a boo with Garcia or sleeping.

Aaron woke up from another nap as Rossi was teaching the others how to make their own pasta. It was kind of nice just to be able to watch his team interact and have fun together.

After they had all finished cleaning up after dinner JJ spoke up "alright who's on bath duty tonight?"

Rossi and surprisingly Reid volunteered for the job.

"Really Reid?" Morgan asked

"Yeah I've been reading books on raising children so it might be good to get some practical experience too, this should be fun" Reid smiled

Maybe this could be fun, thought Aaron as a plan came into his mind.

"Hey Hotch I'm just going to take you upstairs ok?" Reid asked Hotch as he picked him up and started up the stairs with Rossi behind him.

Rossi prepared the bath then joined Reid and Hotch in the nursery; he could tell Reid was a bit nervous.

"OK the first thing you need to do is relax, if you are not relaxed then neither is he." Rossi stated.

"Come on bambino; let's get you in the bath"

Dave decided to let Reid handle bath time but he sat next to him telling him what to do.

Aaron started wriggling around and kicking his legs as much as possible, making it as hard as possible for Spencer to hold him and wash him at the same time. When Spencer finally finished washing him, it was time to get him out and dressed.

Hotch was tired after having a bath and was suddenly starving and Reid seemed to be taking forever to get him dressed, so he started screaming.

At the sound of Aarons screaming JJ ran up the stairs to see Rossi picking up the angry baby and trying to calm him down while Reid stood back looking a bit freaked out.

"Give him to me" JJ said taking the baby from Rossi "Dave can you make him a bottle please?"

"Its ok Spence, he's just hungry and grumpy, he's calm now, do you want to finish dressing him?" JJ asked

"I'd rather not, he doesn't seem too happy with me taking care of him" Spencer said as he walked out of the room.

JJ looked at the baby in her arms, " I'm going to assume you didn't mean to upset Spence but you really scared him, it sounded like someone was trying to kill you" She laid him on the changing table and finished dressing him.

Aaron felt bad for scaring Reid but he found it was getting harder to control his emotions.

JJ walked into the living room and handed Hotch to Reid as Rossi walked in with a fresh bottle.

"I'm not sure about this...I think that Hotch would prefer someone else to do this" Reid stammered

"Don't be silly Spence, I'm sure that Aaron won't mind you helping him, just try it" said Rossi as he handed the bottle to the young man. As Spencer fed Aaron the others finally agreed on a movie to watch and settled in for a quiet night.

Aaron drank the bottle and when he was finished Reid burped him and then cradled him in his arms as he watched the movie. For one irrational moment Aaron just wanted to be in JJ's arms as he fell asleep but he managed to control himself and relax back into Spencers embrace.

"Can someone please pass me a blanket?" Spencer asked

The team watched as Reid wrapped Hotch in the blanket and give him his pacifier.

After a few minutes of rocking, Hotch fell asleep and Reid took him upstairs and tucked him into his crib for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all of your reviews, please keep them coming!**

Chapter 3

The next morning, Morgan awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs, making his way downstairs he found everyone already up having coffee in the living room while Hotch lay on the floor kicking his legs and making gurgling sounds.

"Good morning happy baby" Morgan said smiling at Hotch, as that comment earned him a baby glare.

"There is food and coffee ready in the kitchen Morgan" Rossi told him

After finishing his breakfast and making a cup of coffee Morgan returned to the living room,

"So what are the plans for today?" He asked taking a seat on the couch.

"That's what we were just discussing, my chocolate thunder" replied Garcia. "We were thinking that it might be fun to go to the local market for a stroll and see what we can find."

"The stroller is already in the car but I'll put the baby carrier in too" JJ said as she started packing the diaper bag.

"Sounds good baby girl"

By the time they had arrived at the market Aaron had fallen asleep so JJ carefully took him out of his car seat and put him in his stroller without disturbing him.

"Oh look at all the teddy bears!" Cried Garcia rushing over to a table full of colourful handmade bears. She picked up a fluffy brown bear "For my baby boss man" She told Morgan as she paid for it and put it in the stroller with Aaron.

As they walked around Garcia found all sorts of weird and wonderful items to decorate her office. Rossi was inspired by all the fresh produce and started planning some meals for the next few days.

Aaron woke up and started crying.

"Looks like it's time to stop for some lunch, let's go and find a table over near the food trucks." Said Emily.

They finally found a table big enough for all of them and JJ reached into the stroller to pick Aaron up and as soon as he was in her arms he started to calm down.

Hotch didn't know why but he felt safe and happy when he was in JJs arms. He knew that when he was with her everything was alright. "This must be what a real baby feels like when they're with their mother" Hotch thought.

"Rossi can you please ask one of the vendors if they can heat a bottle for Aaron and order me a burger and fries? I'm going to change his diaper, I'll be right back" JJ said as she grabbed the diaper bag and started walking to the parent's room.

JJ placed Hotch on a change table next to another mother changing her baby.

"Oh he is so little" She exclaimed looking at Hotch "How old is he?"

"He is 3 months old" JJ replied politely "How old is your daughter?"

"She is 8 months now, the time flies when you have a baby, before you know it he will be one and you will be wondering where the time went, is he your first?" She asked

"Yeah he is" Replied JJ

"Well she is my last, I think that 4 is enough" the woman laughed

"That must take a lot of patience" said JJ laughing

"Yeah but it's worth it, just remember to cherish this moment and enjoy all the cuddles you can get before he decides he is too big for all that. See you later" the lady waved as she walked out of the room.

"Did you hear that Aaron, we need to enjoy every moment you're small because soon you'll be big and won't need me anymore" JJ said with a smile.

"If only she knew how quick this time really will fly for us" JJ laughed as she blew a raspberry on his small stomach.

"Come on, time for lunch" She said as she picked him up and went to join the others.

As they approached the table Prentiss reached out for Hotch,

"Eat your lunch while it's still hot, I'll feed him and then get something to eat"

Soon they had all finished eating and as JJ tried to put Hotch back in the stroller he started fussing and trying to grab her shirt.

"What's wrong baby? Don't you want me to put you down?" She asked.

Hotch just buried his face in her chest and made babbling sounds.

"Ok how about I put you in the baby carrier then?"

Once Hotch was settled in the carrier on her chest looking out at everyone he was much happier, he could look at all the things in the market and watch people walking past. It was funny how many people approached JJ to talk to her about her "adorable" baby and ask questions while making baby talk to him.

"Maybe I should carry him" Morgan laughed as an attractive woman stopped JJ so she could look at Hotch.

"You can't use him just to get women's phone numbers" Laughed Reid.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, he could be my ultimate wingman" replied Morgan.

JJ who had missed that small exchange gladly handed him over to Morgan and helped him buckle up the carrier.

"Thanks, he was starting to get heavy" JJ said as the girls walked off to look at some bags.

The boys kept walking and it wasn't long before a woman approached Morgan and started to talk to him about his beautiful baby.

The girls finished what they were doing and started to catch up with the others. Seeing Morgan talking to an attractive young woman Prentiss laughed.

"Watch this" she said as she rushed up to Morgan.

Aaron was not too impressed when the woman started talking 'baby talk' to him; he had already had enough of that for one day.

"Let's see how Derek handles this" he thought as he started screaming, at that moment Emily reached them.

"Its ok baby, mommy's here" she said as she kissed Hotch on the head and he instantly quietened down.

"Where have you been honey I have been looking all over for you?" She asked as she looped her arm under his and kissed him on the cheek and then looked back at Hotch

"I think it's time to get him home for a nap" she said without ever looking at the woman Morgan had been talking too, as she started leading him away she could see the rest of the team in fits of laughter.

"Just you wait _honey,_ I'll get you back for that" Morgan laughed

Aaron woke up later to find himself in his crib back at Rossi's place. He looked around and saw a brown bear in the corner and tried to reach for it. He laid there for a while trying to reach the toy but was getting frustrated because he couldn't make himself move enough to even touch it.

The team was listening to him babbling through the monitor for a few minutes before Garcia went to get him up.

"Hey sleepy head" She said as she picked him up and placed the bear in his arms. "Did you meet your new friend? I thought that he might be able to keep you company, all babies need a teddy bear."

Garcia took him into the living room and he looked around at everyone before his eyes settled on JJ and he smiled at her.

"Hi baby, did you have a nice nap?" JJ asked as she took Aaron and kissed his forehead. "Looks like you found a new friend huh? How about you and teddy lie on the mat and have a play for awhile" she said.

As JJ laid him on his mat Hotch started babbling as he looked up at her.

"Really sweetie? Is that so?" she said to him. Garcia grabbed the camera and took some photos of Hotch and JJ

Hotch was starting to think of JJ as more of a mother, he wondered if it would be weird between them when he was back to his normal self. He was starting to enjoy this experience; more than he ever thought was possible.

"Dinner's ready!"Rossi called from the kitchen.

Morgan carried the baby swing into the kitchen so Hotch could be close to them while they ate. JJ placed Aaron in it and turned it on before sitting at the table.

"I think he is starting to enjoy himself" Emily observed as they watched him happily sitting in the swing with his teddy bear. They had just about finished eating when Hotch had decided he didn't want to be swinging anymore and he started crying. JJ picked him up and sat him on her lap as she finished her tiramisu.

"Sorry honey you can't have any" she said as Aaron reached out for the spoon. "It's for adults only"

Aaron started crying miserably, he wasn't really a baby!

"I promise I'll make you some when you're bigger" Rossi said trying to calm the upset baby.

"I'll take him upstairs for his bath while you get his bottle ready" Said Emily reaching for Hotch.

Emily came back downstairs about twenty minutes later with a clean, but clearly still upset baby.

"Here baby, go to mommy, maybe she can make you feel better." She smiled as she handed Hotch to JJ who had his bottle all ready and waiting for him.

As soon as he was lying in JJ's arms he felt his whole body relaxing and calming down. Deciding that they needed some alone time, JJ took Aaron upstairs into the nursery and sat in the rocking chair with him. When he was fed and burped she laid him on her legs so he was looking up at her face,

"I'm sorry if I upset you earlier but your stomach wouldn't be able to handle solid food right now."

Getting only a sad look in reply she picked up a book of fairy tales from the bookshelf and cradled Aaron to her chest as she read to him. After a few minutes Aaron rubbed his eyes and started yawning. She wrapped him in his blanket and gave him his pacifier before laying him down in his crib.

Realizing that she was going to leave him, he spat out the pacifier and started crying. He wasn't ready for her to leave him just yet.

"Ok honey you can come with mommy, let's go and sit with everyone. JJ picked Aaron up keeping him wrapped in his blanket and gave him back his pacifier before going downstairs. She knew that he would be asleep within a matter of minutes.

JJ went into the living room and cradled Aaron in her arms as she rubbed his back and joined in the conversation about their plans for the next day.

As he drifted off to sleep Aaron thought he heard Garcia say something about having professional baby pictures taken, but surely his team wouldn't let her do that to him.

"He's asleep now, you should probably put him into bed" Rossi said.

"Not yet, he wants to be close tonight and honestly I want him close too" JJ said "so do you really think he will behave and let us get his photo taken?"

"Well he can't really stop us and even if he cries the whole time the photos will still be adorable!" Penelope answered. "The only problem is what to dress him in so he's the most adorable baby ever"

"I think any outfit will work for that, he's already the most adorable baby ever!" Emily said looking at the sleeping baby

"Most baby photographers have a range of different outfits" Said Rossi

When everyone went to bed JJ tried to put Hotch in the crib but every time she put him down he woke up and started fussing. Not knowing what the problem was she laid him on the change table and changed his wet diaper and then wrapped him up and carried him into her room. JJ decided that the only way they would both sleep was to put him in bed with her.

She laid him on the bed and he started crying, "Its ok baby, I just need to get ready for bed and ill pick you up again." Hotch stopped crying as soon as JJ picked him up again, she laid him on her chest and they were soon both asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aaron woke up early and looked over to see JJ asleep next to him with one hand resting on his stomach, not wanting to wake her he just laid there quietly for awhile.

Meanwhile Rossi had also gotten up early and gone to the nursery to check on Aaron. Finding the crib empty he quietly went across the hallway and opened JJ's door silently, seeing JJ still asleep and Hotch laying awake he snuck in and picked the baby up.

"Shhh" he whispered as he picked him up. "I think we should let mommy get some more sleep"

By the time the others had woken up, Rossi had dressed and fed Aaron and put him in the baby swing while he started the coffee and made pancakes for everyone.

JJ looked flustered when she entered the kitchen but visibly relaxed when saw Aaron happily sitting in the baby swing.

"Good morning baby" She greeted him and was rewarded with a smile.

"We thought that you could use some extra sleep" Rossi said

"Thanks, we had a restless night, didn't we Aaron?" she said. As she leaned down to kiss his head Hotch started babbling at her.

"It's ok, no need for excuses" she laughed.

As they ate breakfast they discussed their cover story for the photographer.

"Ok so it will look really weird if we all go in there and say that JJ is his mom but none of you are his father" Garcia said

"Ok" started Rossi "JJ is mommy, Spencer can be daddy, I'm grandpa and the rests of you are aunts and uncles, sound good?" Everyone agreed that would be the best idea.

A short while later the family walked into the photography studio.

"Hi, I'm Mel" Said a tall woman walking into the room "I'll be your photographer today"

After all the introductions, Mel led them into another room full of props and costumes.

"I was thinking that we could do a few family shots first then we can try some cute poses of just Aaron"

Luckily Hotch slept through the first lot of photos. Garcia was looking through all the costumes and she found a small suit

"This is perfect!" She said holding it up

"I'm a lawyer" Spencer quickly lied as he saw Mel look weirdly at Garcia. "Everyone keeps joking already that Aaron will take after me because he's such a serious baby"

"Oh ok, I have the perfect pose, I have some file folders that we can lay him on, that will be really cute" Mel said smiling.

After they had done a few cute poses, Aaron finally woke up. He looked around and realising where they were he started crying harder.

"Looks like we need a quick break" Mel said "Then we will try for some happy awake shots"

As JJ sat in a rocking chair to feed him Mel quickly got her camera and took a few candid shots of the beautiful young mother and baby.

As JJ held Hotch to her shoulder to burp him she whispered in his ear, "Please just go along with this, we have nearly finished and when you are back to normal I'll owe you one"

Hotch played along for all of 10 minutes then decided that he was over it and started crying again. Mel quickly got a few photos of him crying before he got too worked up.

"I think we are done for the day" she announced as JJ quickly picked him up "I have heaps of photos and I'll call you when they are ready to be picked up"

After the photo shoot the team decided to get some sandwiches from a local cafe and take them to the park to eat. Aaron laid in the stroller and could hear all the noise the kids were making as they played. Aaron wondered if JJ might bring him to the park once he started to age again.

After lunch the guys decided to head back to the mansion to play pool in Rossi's game room while the ladies decided to do some shopping.

"Do you want us to take Aaron home?" Rossi asked the girls

"Yeah it's probably a good idea, he'll need another nap soon" JJ answered looking at the time.

Hotch was really hating that the way they all talked about him as if he wasn't even there and just made decisions for him like he was a real baby. Aaron looked at JJ as she came over to say goodbye to him. She leaned into the stroller to give him a kiss goodbye and Aaron realized that he didn't want to be away from her; he was tired and just wanted her to cuddle him.

"Oh my poor baby doll doesn't want mommy to leave him!" Garcia said with a smile as JJ picked up the crying baby

"Go on ladies, he will be fine with us" Rossi said as he took the distressed baby from JJ and held him to his shoulder and bounced him in a soothing way.

"Maybe I should stay..." JJ started to say but was cut off by Morgan "he will be _fine!_ As you said he is getting tired that's all"

Settling Aaron in his car seat Rossi gave him his pacifier to try and calm him down but he kept spitting it out. Half way home Hotch was still upset so Reid tried to reason with him.

"Hotch you need to try and calm down, take control of your emotions and look at this like an adult. You know that JJ will be back later and if you don't calm down you will make yourself physically sick"

This seemed to snap Aaron out of it but he was still upset and wanted JJ. Part of him knew that this was irrational behaviour but he just couldn't reason with himself enough to stop missing her.

"Ok men, let's get Aaron settled" Rossi ordered as they arrived home "Reid, you make Aaron a bottle while I take him upstairs and change his diaper"

Rossi was sitting in the rocking chair when Reid came in with the bottle.

"Can I feed him this time?" he asked quietly

"Sure, just make sure you bring the baby monitor with you when you come downstairs" Rossi said as he handed Hotch to Spencer.

Spencer tried to give Hotch his bottle but he kept turning his head.

"Hotch you need to take this or you will get dehydrated, especially after all that crying...please?"

Aaron drank all of the milk and started falling asleep, but then he thought of JJ and started crying again. Spencer put Aaron on his shoulder and walked around the room bouncing him slightly while reciting some old stories that his mother used to read to him. After about ten minutes Aaron finally stopped crying and fell asleep as he listened to Spencer.

Reid held him for a few more minutes to make sure he was asleep then tucked him into his crib. He grabbed the baby monitor then took a few pics on his phone before heading downstairs. As he walked into the game room he quickly sent a pic to JJ saying "see he is fine, have fun shopping"

JJ heard her phone buzz and quickly pulled it out of her bag and looked at it.

"Awww" was all she said before showing it to the others. "I suppose I can relax now that I know he's sleeping peacefully"

"yes you can, now next stop is coffee then clothes shopping for my little huggy-buggy!" Garcia laughed.

When Aaron woke up an image of JJ popped into his head and he wondered if she was back yet. After a few minutes Morgan came and got him up and took him down to the game room.

Hotch was trying to look around Morgan to see if she was back yet

"She's not back yet boss man" Morgan said as if he could read his mind.

Rossi took one look at Hotch and knew he still wanted only JJ, so he took him from Morgan and gave him a cuddle.

"Look kiddo, I know that I'm not the person that you want right now but you'll just have to put up with me until she gets back ok?" Seeing that Hotch was about to start crying Rossi quickly put the pacifier in his mouth. Hotch wasn't happy about it but he took the pacifier and sulked in Rossi's arms while the boys started a new game of poker.

The girls returned a few hours later laden down with shopping bags and pizza for dinner. JJ made a beeline for hotch who was sitting in Rossi's lap looking upset. Hotch clung to JJ and buried his face in her shoulder as she cuddled him.

"How was he?"JJ asked Rossi

"He was ok, he slept just fine but got upset when he woke up and you were not back yet, since then he has just sat in my arms waiting for you."

"Oh baby, you knew I was coming back" JJ said as she rubbed his small back. Hotch refused to leave JJ for the rest of the evening and when it was time for bed she didn't even bother trying to put him in his cot, she just wrapped him and took him back downstairs.

Hotch finally fell asleep in her arms and when JJ was sure he was asleep she passed him to Emily,

"Thanks my arms were killing me" said JJ

"I never would have thought Hotch would attach to anyone like he has with you, it's so cute!" said Garcia

"Well I would say that he has formed a bond with JJ like any baby does with its mother, because JJ has been looking after him the most, so he now associates being safe and cared for with her more than the rest of us" Reid hypothesized

"Well from now on I'll make sure that I'm close by, I don't want him to get upset like that again" JJ said looking over at her small charge.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please keep reviewing this story, any feedback is good, any ideas are also welcome. Thanks**

Chapter 5

Aaron woke up in JJs bed again, not wanting anyone to come in and take him; he started babbling trying to wake her up.

"Good morning sweetie" JJ said as she woke up.

She rolled over and picked Aaron up and put him on her chest as she lay back down. Aaron looked at her with her eyes shut and kept trying to talk to her.

"Shhhh... Let's go back to sleep baby"

JJ tried rubbing his back to get him back to sleep but Aaron wanted her to get up, his diaper was full and he was starting to get hungry. He decided to change tactics and started crying softly and JJ was immediately awake.

"Ok baby, you win, let's go and get you changed"

Aaron was no longer embarrassed to be getting his diaper changed or being bathed by the others. He watched as JJ ran his bath and tested the water to make sure it wouldn't burn him before she lifted him into the warm water. She washed him all over with the washcloth and then she put a few toys in front of him to play with; he was enjoying the feel of the warm water and started kicking his legs and trying to reach the toys.

Before he knew it JJ was lifting him out of the water and wrapping him in a fluffy towel. She spoke to him as she rubbed lotion on him and put some powder on him and a fresh diaper.

"Now, what are we going to wear today? I'm sure that Garcia will want to see you in one of the new outfits she got for you" JJ said as she picked up a blue onesie that said, _I'm the boss, mommy reports to me!_ , on it.

Aaron just giggled as JJ told him what it said.

"I'll take that as a yes" she laughed as she quickly dressed him.

Everyone was already up and getting breakfast when they went into the kitchen. JJ passed Aaron to Garcia, who quickly kissed him all over his small face.

"I told you that would be adorable!" Garcia laughed

Aaron watched as JJ prepared his bottle but was a bit surprised when she handed it to Garcia and didn't pick him up. Seeing his lip trembling as JJ went to make coffee, Garcia tried to sooth him.

"It's ok sweetie, mommy needs coffee and you need your breakfast, she will still be here when you're done"

Hotch quickly drank his milk and looked around for JJ. Noticing that she was still eating he just sat quietly in Garcia's arms and listened to his team mates talking. They had decided to just stay home today and watch some movies and relax. Aaron's attention was starting to wander and he didn't notice when JJ went to get dressed, when he looked for her and couldn't see her, he started to get upset. Prentiss came over and picked him up as he started crying, he barely heard what she was saying but felt himself being bounced up and down. After a few minutes he felt himself being pulled away from Emily and realising that he was back in JJ's arms he started to calm down.

"Its ok baby, mommy's here, I just needed to go and get dressed"

"I think I need to go for a jog" JJ told the others "I'll take Aaron with me"

Hotch was happy to hear that she wasn't going without him and was quiet as JJ put him in the stroller and gave him his pacifier and covered him with a blanket. The soothing motion of the stroller was making him feel sleepy but he tried to fight that feeling for as long as possible. By the time they returned Hotch was fast asleep so JJ parked the stroller in the living room and went to have a shower hoping that he would stay asleep until she finished.

Aaron spent the afternoon playing on the floor with all of the baby toys Garcia had brought, he tried to watch the movies that the others were watching but he couldn't concentrate on them for very long. He kept an eye on JJ and every time she left the room he watched the doorway until she came back.

Aaron was lying on his stomach when he decided that he wanted his teddy on the other side of the mat. He never realised that rolling over could be so hard, he also didn't realise that the whole team was watching to see if he could do it. He was starting to get frustrated, he was a grown man for goodness sake, and he knew how to do this. All of a sudden he threw himself to the side and found himself lying on his back and reached over for his prize and snuggled it against his face.

"Way to go mini boss man" cheered Morgan who had filmed the whole thing. Feeling very proud of his small achievement he giggled behind his teddy bear. JJ picked him up and held him above her head, "well done baby!" she said then lowered him to her face so she could kiss his cheek. Aaron knew he should be embarrassed that his friends were cheering him on for rolling over when he was really a grown man but the baby side of him loved the attention. JJ laid him back on the floor and started playing peek-a-boo with him.

While the team ate dinner Hotch was once again put into the baby swing so he could be near them. He tried to focus on the conversation but his attention span was really short, he was starting to feel like a real baby, everyone just spoke over the top of him like he wasn't even there, when they did talk to him it was in baby talk, they all cuddled him and just kissed him whenever they felt like it without thinking about if he would want them to or not.

It was hard for Aaron to admit that some of the attention was nice because normally he would hate all they closeness from his team members. He started to worry that maybe he would mentally regress to his current age; this thought made him start crying and JJ reached over and put his pacifier in his mouth. The next thing Aaron knew he was in the rocking chair with JJ, she had taken his pacifier out and replaced it with bottle, he fell asleep thinking about how comfortable and safe he felt with JJ and didn't even stir when she laid him in the crib.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the short chapters, I'm trying to find time to type this up while looking after my kids.**

Chapter 6 

After a restless night the team found JJ in the living room pacing with a crying baby.

"What's wrong with my baby?" Garcia asked

"I'm not sure, he kept waking up all night and wouldn't and wouldn't even drink his milk, and he feels hot, I think he's sick." replied the tired woman passing him to the closest person, who happened to be Spencer.

"Maybe he's teething?" said Rossi

"Isn't he too young for that?" Asked JJ

"Well according to the baby book I read, teething can start anytime from 3 months" answered Reid as he was trying to calm the upset baby.

"I'll call the doctor and make an appointment just so we can be sure" Emily said picking up her phone.

Aaron didn't know what was wrong only that he was in pain and miserable because of it.

"Well" the doctor started, "he's fine but he is teething like you thought" she said.

"You can give him some infant Tylenol and rub some teething gel into his gums to make him feel better" she told JJ

"Ok thanks for fitting us in on such short notice" JJ said as she walked out of the room

After she had settled Aaron in his car seat she called Rossi,

"Yeah he's teething like you thought, I need to go to the pharmacy and get a few things for him and then I'll be back... bye"

Getting out of the car JJ decided to put Hotch in his baby carrier so her hands were free. Aaron just lay against her chewing his fingers; he couldn't believe that teething would hurt so much!

Back at home JJ gave him some Tylenol and rubbed the teething gel in to his gums. Aaron was grateful that the teething gel worked to numb the pain and he guzzled down a bottle and fell asleep. For the rest of the day Hotch was passed around his team mates because he didn't want to be put down. Sitting with Spencer was the most relaxing place to be because the young man knew a lot of stories and was happy to have a captive audience for once and listening to the stories took Aaron's mind off the pain.

As the team headed to bed Prentiss picked up Hotch.

"My turn tonight" she announced "Go and get a good night's sleep so you can look after him tomorrow" She said as JJ was about to protest.

"Ok" she said reluctantly "but come and get me if he needs me"

"Yes mum, go to bed" laughed Emily

JJ quickly gave Aaron a kiss goodnight "be a good boy for aunty Em and I'll see you in the morning ok?"

Emily decided that she would just put him straight into bed with her so that if he woke up crying he wouldn't wake JJ. Aaron woke up crying in pain in the middle of the night and was surprised that Emily picked him but then remembered that JJ needed to sleep so it was Emily's turn at baby duty.

Prentiss took him downstairs and gave him some more Tylenol and made him a bottle. She changed him and then took him back to her room and sat in bed feeding him and then rocked him back to sleep. Emily looked at the peacefully sleeping baby in her arms and had to remind herself that this helpless little thing was actually her boss and soon he would back to normal. While she was happy for things to go back to the way they normally were, she knew that she would miss the baby they had all come to love.

As Emily carried Aaron into the kitchen the next morning he nearly threw himself out of her arms to get to JJ.

"Good morning honey, did you miss me?" she laughed as she took Hotch and kissed his forehead.

"How was he last night Em?" she asked

"He was fine, only up once for more Tylenol and a bottle" Emily replied as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"That's my good baby, how are you feeling this morning?" In response Aaron just laid his head against her and started chewing his fingers.

"Still not wonderful then I guess" JJ observed. After more pain reliever and his bottle, Aaron was happy to sit in the baby swing while everyone ate breakfast.

By that afternoon Aaron was feeling much better and when JJ checked his mouth she found that a tooth had broken through his gums.

"I bet that feels better, huh?" she said to him as she scooped him up. "Naptime baby"

She took him upstairs and changed him and laid him in the crib with his pacifier. Aaron lay quietly for a while watching the mobile that JJ had turned on for him. "There is no way this would really help babies go to sleep" he thought but without realising it he fell asleep before it even stopped turning.

Downstairs the team was talking about Aaron.

"I wonder how much longer it will be before he starts aging again?" said Morgan "it's been nearly a week already"

"I know but Vince said that it could take up to two weeks before he started changing" Rossi answered

"Did he tell you what the others were like after they changed back? Did they just go back to normal or did they need extra help with things?" Asked JJ

"He said that he stopped paying attention after they started aging, just took them food once or twice and left them locked in a room, then when he felt like it he killed them off and went and found a new victim" Rossi said

"Chances are his muscles could be weak from not being used, he may not be able to walk without support until his body re adjusts, or he might have no bladder control after being in diapers for so long. Hopefully though he will be fine as he should be growing up again slowly, giving his body time to adjust to each new age, instead of just turning straight back into an adult" said Reid.

"Well whatever happens we will all be here to help him recover if he needs it" said Rossi firmly and the whole team nodded in agreement

Aaron woke up with a dirty diaper and started crying so that someone would come and change him. JJ came in and decided that he needed a bath as his diaper had exploded all the way up his back.

Hotch was more than ready for this baby stage to be over!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next few days passed quickly as the team continued to take care of Hotch. They awoke each morning thinking that today might be the day he started aging again. About a week later Rossi went into the nursery to get Aaron up and found that today was the day!

Aaron had doubled in size over night, he was crying because he was cold as his pyjamas had ripped off during the night when he had gotten bigger. Looking up at Rossi he kept crying

"Don't you want me to change you and get your breakfast bambino?" He asked as he leaned into the cot to pick him up.

"NO!"

Rossi laughed, "Well you need to let me get you dressed you're freezing, then we will go and wake up mummy"

Aaron was feeling very proud of himself, it had taken a lot of concentration to say that one word, but he had done it!

Rossi quickly changed him and walked down the hall to JJ's room, after knocking and being told to enter Dave walked in and handed Aaron to JJ.

"He's bigger!" She exclaimed

"Tell her what you just told me bambino" Rossi smiled

"NO!" Aaron giggled

They both laughed "Let's go get something to eat baby" JJ said as she kissed him on the head.

"I'll bring down the highchair for him, he looks like he needs it now" said Rossi. Aaron started clapping his hands at the thought of some real food.

The team were all happy to see that Hotch had finally started growing. "Now we can have some fun" said Morgan, "sorry Hotch but babies are boring" He laughed as he got a small Hotch glare in return.

"Good thing I brought some baby food" Garcia said as she took a jar of pureed fruit out of the pantry. "It looks like he is ready for some solid food"

Aaron quickly finished his bottle and didn't even fuss as he was put into the highchair and strapped in and JJ put a bib around his neck. As JJ spooned some of the fruit into his open mouth he closed his eyes and said "mmmm", it tasted like the best thing in the world after having nothing but formula for the last two weeks.

After breakfast Rossi and Morgan went downstairs to play pool while Reid curled up with a book and the girls took Aaron into the living room to play. He was happy to learn that he could now sit up on his own and didn't have to lay down all the time.

"Maybe we could go for a walk to the park after his nap?" Emily said as she made a tower of blocks in front of Aaron.

"Yeah sounds good, I think some fresh air would do us all good" Garcia replied as she watched Hotch knock over the blocks and start laughing.

"Little monster" laughed Emily and she leaned over to tickle him.

"I think we need some food supplies too" added Garcia "its going to be a nice night, maybe we should get some steaks for the BBQ?"

When Aaron woke up from his nap he found himself sleeping with his teddy cuddled to his chest, pushing the animal away from himself and spitting out his pacifier he tried calling out to JJ

"Jay" he finally managed to say, while he waited for her he practised saying it over and over again, "jay, jay, jay, jay..."

"Hi baby, that's good talking" JJ said as she picked him up. "Are you ready to go to the park?" she asked him as she changed his diaper and put him in a cute outfit of overalls with a red t-shirt underneath.

After Aaron had a snack and was strapped into the stroller the team headed for the park. He couldn't really hear what they were all talking about but he just enjoyed sitting back and looking at everything around him. The adults decided that they should stop on the way and get coffee to take with them.

The ladies sat and drank their coffee while watching the boys play with Aaron. They pushed him on the swing for a while then they sat in the sandpit and built sandcastles for him to destroy. Garcia took all kinds of photos to remember the day and then they headed to the store to get supplies for their cook out.

At the store the arguments began, "You have to have steak on the BBQ!"Insisted Garcia

"No, I don't feel like steak" Emily protested "I want marinated chicken!"

"I'm sure that we can get both" said Rossi, trying to stop the arguing.

"Well then who wants steak? And who wants chicken?" Garcia said

"Steak _and_ chicken for me baby girl!" laughed Morgan

"Oh yum, both for me too!" Said Reid

"Chicken for me" said JJ

"Ok, now what salad should we make?" Garcia asked "I was thinking potato salad would be nice"

Hotch sat in the cart giggling as they started arguing over salads. In the end Rossi agreed to cook both chicken and steak and three kinds of salad to please everyone.

"We need cheetos too!" said JJ as she wandered off to find her favourite snack.

"And ice cream!" Reid called as he too walked off.

"And beer!" Morgan said

"I'm not waiting for anyone!"Rossi called as everyone separated and he took the shopping they already had and headed for the checkout.

JJ put Aaron outside on a picnic blanket with some toys while Morgan and Reid started the bbq and Rossi and the ladies started making the salads and preparing everything they would need.

"He seems much happier today" Morgan observed as he drank his beer.

"Yeah I think he is happy now that he knows he is getting older again and this whole thing will be over soon" Reid guessed.

"Its weird but I think that I'm going to miss baby Hotch" Morgan said

"Me too" Said Reid.

Hotch was happy playing on the blanket by himself, he watched as Morgan and Reid attempted to cook the steaks until Rossi came out and took over. Garcia came over blowing bubbles all over him.

Aaron giggled as they popped on his head and face, he couldn't believe that this was nearly over, in a few days he would be back to normal. He decided to make the most of the days to come and enjoy spending time with his family before things went back to normal.

Once everyone had finished eating Morgan took Hotch upstairs for his bath.

"I think we should find you a bigger pair of pyjamas" Morgan said as he dried Aaron off and got him dressed again.

Morgan took him downstairs and put him into JJ's waiting arms for his bottle.

JJ couldn't help but think how much she would miss this night time routine as she put Aaron in to bed and tucked a blanket around him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

The next morning JJ was woken up by Aaron calling her over the monitor,

"Jay" he called

"Jay"

JJ walked into the nursery to find Aaron standing up holding onto the side of the crib.

"Hi baby!" she yawned as she scooped him up and kissed his small cheek.

JJ laid him on the change table and started to undress him, she was thinking about what to dress him in as she took off his diaper.

" _Uh oh"_ Aaron thought as he felt his bladder relaxing and he peed all over JJ, he was embarrassed for a minute and then started giggling.

"Oh Aaron, that's not funny!" she exclaimed as she quickly put a new diaper on him.

Rossi stood laughing in the doorway, "Let me take him" he laughed "Go and have a shower"

"He's all yours!" She said as she walked out of the room

"I'm sure she'll see the funny side of this later when she gets cleaned up" Rossi said to the still giggling baby.

JJ came down to find Rossi making omelettes for everyone while Spencer was feeding Hotch some mashed banana.

"Jay" Aaron said when he saw her spitting a mouthful of banana all over Reid

"Is that yummy?" she asked as she kissed his head, ignoring Spencers shocked expression as he looked down at the mashed banana all over himself.

"That's disgusting Hotch!" Spencer exclaimed as he got a cloth to wipe his face and t-shirt.

"Ha ha, that was awesome!" laughed Emily

"Look out everyone; Aaron is in the mood to get everyone dirty today" Laughed JJ as she told them about being peed on.

Aaron

"Hmmm, what do one year olds do for fun?" Aaron thought as he crawled onto the living room and looked at all the baby stuff

"At least today I can move around by myself, it's much better than being carried everywhere"

Aaron crawled over to the mat with all the toys on it and found some blocks. He tried to stack them but they kept falling over.

"This is stupid" he thought "maybe the kitchen will be more fun!" He crawled through to the kitchen and looked up at Morgan making himself a coffee. "Wow, Morgan looks really tall from this angle"

"Maybe I can stand up if I hold onto the drawer handles" he thought as he made his way over to them.

He reached up and grabbed the highest handle he could reach and tried to stand up, he got about halfway to standing before falling and landing back on his butt.

On the second attempt he nearly made it all the way but the drawer started coming out and he fell backwards losing his balance and banged his head on the floor

"WAAAAA" Hotch cried as Morgan picked him up and cuddled him to his chest,

"Its ok Hotch I've got you" he heard Morgan saying in a soothing way.

"What happened?" He heard JJ ask as he reached for her.

" _JJ will make me feel better"_ Hotch thought as she kissed his head and cuddled him. The longer he sat with JJ the more he felt himself calming down "I can't believe how much that hurt" he thought.

"Alright" Aaron thought after a few minutes "Enough cuddles" and he started wriggling to be put down.

JJ put him down and he was off, "Maybe the coffee table would be an easier place to stand up" he reasoned.

Crawling over to the table he grabbed the edge and managed to pull himself to his feet, he didn't realise that Garcia was busy taking photos of him the whole time.

"Well done baby" She said as she snapped another pic.

"Ok so I can now stand up holding onto the furniture, that's good progress," he thought "I should be able to walk along the table too" he started taking tiny steps to reach the paper lying on the other end of the table.

Hotch got to the end of the table and saw JJ sitting close by holding out her arms.

"Come on Aaron, walk to me" she said

Hotch let go of the table and just stood still without holding on to anything for a moment.

" _I should be able to do this"_ he thought, _"I_ _ **know**_ _how to do this" Hotch_ tried to take a small step and fell back onto his butt, _"ok let's try that again"_

JJ stood him back on his feet and held out her arms again to him, he took a wobbly step forward and grabbed onto JJ's hands.

"Yay!" she cried as she caught him and kissed his head.

For the rest of the day Aaron amused himself by trying to toddle around the house and he was quite pleased with himself when he managed a few steps without falling over.

JJ sat in the rocking chair that night and gave Aaron his night time bottle while she cradled him in her arms.

"I'm going to miss this" she sighed "this could be our last night time feeding baby"

When he had finished his bottle she held him and rocked him until he fell asleep.

As expected Aaron had grown again over night, JJ woke up to a small hand hitting her leg. She rolled over to see a 2 year old Aaron trying to climb onto the bed.

"Good morning baby" she greeted him.

"Up please mommy" A small voice replied.

"Did you climb out of your cot all by yourself?" she asked as she got out of bed and picked up the happy toddler.

"YES!" came a happy reply

"Lucky you didn't hurt yourself, let's go and get dressed"

After he was ready for the day, JJ put Aaron down and he took off running down the hall, he was just about at the stairs when he felt himself being lifted off the ground.

"Not so fast short stuff" Morgan said as he started carrying him down the stairs.

"Be still man, do you want me to drop you?" Morgan asked as Hotch started squirming in his arms to be put down.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Aaron yelled

"Please" he added when Morgan didn't immediately do what he had asked

"Nope, sorry kiddo it's time for breakfast" Morgan told him as he strapped Hotch into his highchair and placed a bib around his neck.

"NO" Aaron replied angrily as he ripped the bib off his neck and threw it onto the floor.

"Yes" Derek calmly responded as he picked up the bib and placed it back on Aaron. He laughed as Hotch just glared at him but he left the bib in place as Rossi put some pieces of pancake onto his tray along with a sippy cup of milk.

As soon as he had enough he held his arms out to Garcia knowing she would do as he asked.

"Down please" he smiled

"Sure thing my little running rug rat" She said happily as she washed his face and hands then lifted him out of the high chair, she kissed him on the forehead and then let him go.

Hotch was running almost before his feet touched the floor, he didn't know where he was running too but he was full of energy.

"I think we should go to the park today and let him run off some energy" Garcia laughed as she watched him run laps around the couch.

As soon as they got to the park Aaron took off running towards the play equipment squealing as Reid chased after him yelling "I'm going to catch you"

With a bit of help from Spencer, Aaron climbed up the stairs and ran across a small bridge and threw himself down the slide into Morgan's waiting arms. After a few more slides he ran across to the swings, as Spencer pushed him he called out to JJ,

"Mommy, mommy look how high I'm going!" He laughed as Reid pushed him higher

The rest of the team had spread out a picnic rug under a tree and were enjoying a cup of coffee.

"I think we need to go and get a bed for Aaron today, he is getting too big for the crib now and he climbed out of it this morning and came and woke me up" JJ said as she watched her unit chief running across the playground laughing while Morgan chased him.

"We'll stop and get one on the way home after lunch" Rossi said "It's nice to see him playing and having fun like a real child"

"Yeah I never thought that I would see the serious Aaron Hotchner running around laughing and enjoying himself, maybe this change has been good for him" speculated Emily

While they were watching the fun, Aaron looked back to see where Morgan was and tripped over a rock and landed hard on his knee. JJ rushed over to him as he started screaming. She checked him over for any other injuries before scooping him up into her arms.

Aaron couldn't believe how much a scraped knee could hurt; he flung his arms around JJ's neck and buried his head in her shoulder as she made her way back to the picnic blanket with him.

JJ sat cuddling him and rubbing his back until his tears stopped then she turned him around so she could see his injured knee better.

"Oh my poor baby boss man!" exclaimed Garcia while she was rummaging through her purse to find a bandaid. "Come here and let Aunty Pen fix that nasty boo boo"

Once she had put the bandaid on his knee he climbed back into JJ's lap and without even realizing it he put his thumb in his mouth, he felt embarrassed by all the attention the team was giving him for a tiny scrape on his knee, he was a grown man after all.

"I think it's time to go home so Aaron can have a nap" JJ announced as she watched the small boy rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I'm not tired!" Hotch protested

"Oh ok, well it's time to go home anyway" JJ replied trying not to upset Aaron.

"NO" Aaron cried as JJ tried to pick him up. Aaron ran just out of her reach but he wasn't quick enough as Morgan grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried him to the car.

"Put me down NOW Morgan!" he shouted

"Temper tantrums won't work on me grumpy, it's time to go" Morgan replied and continued walking ignoring the protests coming from Hotch.

Morgan wrestled him into his car seat and buckled him in then he kissed him on the forehead, "Be a good boy for mommy while we go and get your new bed" he waved as he got in Rossi's car.

JJ, Prentiss and Garcia drove home listening to Aaron sob the whole way and complain that he wasn't tired and didn't need a nap. When they arrived at the mansion, JJ took him upstairs and laid on her bed with him, he had stopped sobbing and cuddled into her side while he sucked his thumb and quickly drifted off to sleep.

When Aaron woke up the boys were back and were already assembling his new bed, he helped as much as he could by passing them screws and tools when they needed them. Aaron was looking forward to sleeping in a normal bed again but he wasn't sure about the iron man quilt cover.

While everyone was distracted Hotch decided that an impromptu game of hide and seek was a good idea and ran off to hide, he found a comfy spot in the corner of Rossi's walk in closet and sat down to wait.

"Where's Aaron gone?" Garcia asked as they finished making Aarons new bed.

"He was just here" Reid said looking around

"Maybe he's hiding from us?" Speculated Morgan.

"I just hope he hasn't gone down the stairs on his own!" JJ said as she ran out of the room.

"Aaron, where are you?" She called as she went downstairs and started searching for him.

The team searched the house for nearly half an hour when JJ started to panic, they had looked everywhere, even Rossi's closet but didn't see him in the dark corner.

"We've looked everywhere!" JJ exclaimed "Do you think he went outside? What if he went outside and someone took him!"

"I'm sure that he's here somewhere" Rossi said trying to calm her down. "We'll search every room again, more thoroughly this time"

"When we find him, he's in big trouble" growled Morgan.

JJ went back upstairs to look again, "Aaron where are you? You need to come out now, it's not funny!" she called as she walked down the hallway.

Aaron could hear the panic in her voice and knew that he should come out "I'm here" he called as he stepped out of Rossi's bedroom.

"Oh baby you had me so worried" she cried as she picked him up and cuddled him to her, "I thought something bad had happened to you"

"OMG! You found him" Cried Garcia as JJ walked downstairs with him. "Bad baby, you almost gave me a heart attack" She scolded him

"Where do we get one of those baby leashes from?" joked Morgan

"Well until we get one, strap him into the highchair so he can't disappear again before dinner" Rossi said.

Hotch was not impressed to be restrained but found that watching Rossi cook was fascinating, he took total control of the kitchen and confidently made the best spaghetti that he had ever tasted. In typical kid fashion Aaron ended up wearing more spaghetti than he ate because he insisted on feeding himself.

"I'm going to run a bath for the messy one" said Prentiss

JJ carried Aaron into the bathroom a few minutes later and after a few minutes of scrubbing they had a nice clean baby again. Aaron started yawning while he was in the bath, and the two women decided that it was definitely bedtime. JJ quickly dressed him and tucked him into his new bed, she read him a story as he drifted off to sleep with one arm around his teddy and a thumb stuck in his mouth.

"Goodnight baby" She whispered as she walked out of the room.

 **Please leave me a review, I love hearing what you all think. Thanks**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to the people that reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate it. I had to split this chapter into two because it was so long, I hope you like it as much as I do.**

Chapter 9

Aaron woke up the next morning busting to go to the bathroom; he jumped off his bed and ran to the bathroom. Just as he was finished he saw Rossi in the hallway,

"Can you help me wash my hands please?"

"Of course youngster" Rossi replied as he lifted Hotch up so he could reach the taps. "Then let's go and find you something to wear today"

Looking through the drawers they found a pair of overalls in his current size and Rossi held them up for Hotch's approval

"Garcia really thought that I would wear those?" Aaron said looking at them in disgust

"She probably didn't care if you liked them or not, she probably just thought they would look adorable on you" laughed Rossi

"Well I'm not wearing them, what else did she get?"

"Looks like only a couple of pairs of overalls and one pair of jeans" Rossi said as he looked through the drawers.

"Ok can you pass the jeans please and a t-shirt" Aaron asked as Rossi handed him his clothes.

"I'm not wearing this" Hotch objected as Rossi also handed him a pull up.

" It's probably a good idea because you have been in diapers for weeks, it's better than having an accident and wetting your clothes, and you can still use the toilet" Rossi argued

"Exactly my point, I can use the toilet now and I have been in diapers for long enough" Aaron whined.

Ignoring that statement Rossi bent down and started to help him get undressed

"I can do it!" Hotch insisted

"Ok Mr. independent, I'll wait in the hall in case you need help" he replied as he walked out of the room

Rossi was waiting in the hall for Aaron when JJ came out of her room.

"Good morning, is everything ok?" she asked wondering why Rossi was standing in the hallway

"Good morning everything is fine, Aaron is getting dressed and just a heads up, he wants to be able to everything for himself today" the older man responded

JJ knocked on the bedroom door, "Are you ok in there?" she asked

"No" came a frustrated reply

JJ and Rossi walked in to find Aaron sitting on the floor wearing a t-shirt, a pull up and his socks.

"Let me help you baby" she said bending down to help him with his pants

"I'm NOT a baby!" Hotch declared angrily

"Ok sorry Aaron" JJ apologized as she helped him get his pants on, once he was dressed she picked him up out of habit

"I can walk now; you don't need to carry me!" he complained

"sorry...habit I suppose, I'll try to remember that you are old enough to walk now" she smiled "but you need to let me help you down the stairs"

"Ok" he reluctantly agreed

As Hotch walked into the kitchen, Garcia picked him up and kissed him noisily "look how big you are today!" she squealed. Aaron grinned for a second then started struggling

"Put me down Garcia!" he yelled over her squealing

"Oh...ok sorry" she stammered looking hurt as she put him down

"Don't worry Pen he's just grumpy" said JJ

"I'm not grumpy! I'm just sick of being treated like a child!" Aaron replied "I don't need to be picked up or cuddled or taken care of like a baby!"

"Oh really?" started Rossi "I hate to burst your bubble but you will still accept our help while you're still the size of a small child, it's not safe for you to be doing some things on your own right now and you know it. Now eat your breakfast and apologize to Garcia for being rude" he said picking him up and sitting him in a booster seat at the table.

"Sorry Garcia" he huffed with his arms crossed as Rossi placed a bib around his neck and put a plate of pancakes and a sippy cup of juice in front of him. Throwing the bib on the floor he yelled "I don't need that!"

"Yes you do, we are going out later and I don't want you getting dirty" Rossi replied calmly replacing the bib "now leave it on unless you want to end up in time out"

"Where are we going?" Aaron demanded

"I'll tell you later, now eat" the older man replied while ignoring the glare that was being directed at him.

As soon as he was finished, Aaron slid off his chair and started towards the living room. On the way past, JJ scooped him up and removed the bib and quickly wiped his face and hands, kissed him on the forehead and then put him down, without ever looking at him or stopping her conversation with Garcia and Morgan. Hotch stood and looked at her with an exasperated expression on his face for a minute then turned and walked out of the room without saying anything.

Hotch walked into the living room, he was a bit unsure what to do with himself now. He spotted a Lego set that looked like fun but not wanting to look like a child anymore than he already did, he decided to read a book.

Meanwhile:

"So where are we going today Rossi?" Reid asked

"Actually, I'm not sure, but I think we all need to get out of here for a while, any suggestions?" Rossi replied

"We could go to the museum" Reid suggested "I used to love going there when I was younger"

"How about no pretty boy" Morgan said "we could go and see a movie?"

"The only movie we would be able to see is a kids movie, how well do you think Mr. grumpy would handle that?" said Prentiss

"Well then what do you think he would like to do?" asked Morgan

"How about the Zoo?" Suggested JJ

Aaron:

Aaron suddenly felt the need to go to the bathroom so he jumped off the sofa and ran to the downstairs bathroom. After a bit of struggling he got his pants and the pull up off but before he could get onto the toilet, his bladder released and he looked down to see that his pants were now sitting in a puddle of wee.

Hotch couldn't stop himself from bursting into tears of frustration as he looked at the mess he had made. JJ knocked on the door, "Are you ok in there Aaron?" getting no response, she opened the door and saw what had happened.

"Oh sweetie, it's ok it was just an accident, let's go and get you cleaned up" She wrapped him in a towel and carried him upstairs. JJ found some dry clothes and a clean pull up and handed them to him, "can you put these on yourself?"

"Yes" Aaron replied quietly

Once he was re-dressed JJ helped him down the stairs and he went back in to the living room and continued reading his book.

"The local paper is advertising a carnival, which should be fun" Reid was saying as JJ re-entered the kitchen. "I've never been to a carnival before"

"Sounds like a plan then, let's get this show on the road" Rossi said decisively

"I'll go and pack some stuff for Aaron" Said JJ walking out of the room

"Ok, I'll get boss man" Said Prentiss

"Need back-up?" Laughed Morgan

"No I'm sure I can handle him" Emily replied confidently

Emily walked into the living room and held out her hand to Hotch, "come on, we're going out"

"Where are we going?" Hotch asked

"To a local carnival" Emily smiled "It should be fun"

"I'd rather stay here today, thanks anyway" he replied not looking up from his book

"Well that's not going to happen kid" Morgan said as he walked in, picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, all the while ignoring the yelled protests from Hotch. "We're taking Reid to his first carnival and you can't stay here alone, so unless you want me to hire a babysitter, you're coming with us"

"PUT ME DOWN! I CAN WALK!" shouted Hotch

"I'm sure you can, but this is quicker" Morgan replied calmly as he carried him out to the car and strapped him in.

When they arrived at the carnival Morgan got the stroller out of the car.

"I can walk, I don't need that!" snapped hotch as he spotted the horrible contraption.

"Ok, fine" JJ said as she unbuckled him from his car seat "but you need to hold our hands and stay with us. Also while we're here we don't want to draw attention to ourselves so you need to act like a real 4 year old"

" I'm an adult remember so I'm not going to go running off like some disobedient child, and no-one will be looking at me anyway so why do I have to act like a child?" Aaron asked grumpily

"Because you look like a child, that's why" JJ responded "and cut out the attitude, and try to have some fun"

"Yes _mommy_ " Hotch replied sarcastically

"That's better baby" she smiled taking his hand. Spencer was really excited as they entered the carnival and started reciting facts about roller coasters and ferris wheels.

"So what's first pretty boy?" Morgan asked him, cutting him off mid rant

"I think we should go on the ferris wheel first" he replied happily

After they had gone on the Ferris wheel they came across some kid's rides, "do you want mommy to take you on the train ride?" JJ asked Aaron

"No" came a small voice

"Ok then grumpy lets go and find some more rides for Reid then"

"Hey pretty boy, wanna try some of the games with me?" Morgan asked

"Sure, but you do know that they're rigged so the players hardly ever win?" Spencer answered as they stepped up to a game where you had to shoot the moving ducks.

"I'm going to win this easily" Laughed Morgan

Hotch watched as Reid surprisingly beat Morgan and won a teddy bear. Wondering if his skills were still any good and mindful of the man running the game, Hotch tugged on Spencers pants leg,

"Daddy, can I have a turn?" he asked sweetly

Reid hid his surprise and replied "sure buddy" He helped Hotch climb onto a stool and passed him the toy gun.

After a couple of misses Hotch hit a duck and the man running the game looked shocked. "I've never seen a kid his age win!"

"Like father, like son, I suppose" Reid said quickly passing the offered toy to Aaron and helping him climb off the stool

"Mommy, look what I won!" Hotch said holding out a stuffed dog.

"Well done baby!" She replied happily

"Daddy, can we play again?" Aaron asked turning back to Reid

"Maybe later buddy, I think we should have some lunch first" Reid replied taking Aarons hand and leading him away from the games. They walked among the food trucks trying to decide what to have for lunch, and as the team followed they were surprised that Aaron was happily walking with Spencer holding his hand and chatting about all the different food options.

"Can I get chicken nuggets daddy?" Aaron asked looking up at Spencer.

"Sure buddy" Spencer replied and ordered the nuggets for Aaron and a burger for himself.

"We'll go and get a table"Reid said to the others as he collected his and Aaron's food and made their way to the tables set up in the shade.

"So", Reid started as they sat down, "why did you choose me to be daddy?" he asked "I don't think I'm very good father material" he laughed

"Because I knew that you wouldn't baby me like the others have been doing" replied Hotch as he popped a whole chicken nugget in his mouth.

"Ok then" Spencer said

"Did you see the look on that guys face when I shot the duck!"Aaron laughed

"It was pretty funny but it's probably best not to draw too much attention to yourself" Spencer smiled

The rest of the team had gotten their food and joined them at the table. "Daddy I need to go to the bathroom!" Aaron said urgently.

"Ok come on" Spencer said as he picked him up and rushed to the men's room.

"At least he's happier now than he was earlier" observed JJ as she watched them run to the bathroom

"Yeah" said Rossi, "and it looks like he's happy to let Reid help him too"

"Its sooooo cute how he's calling Reid daddy" smiled Garcia "I'm sure that Reid loves it too, he loves kids but they don't always like him"

"At least the Reid effect doesn't work on Hotch" laughed Emily

"Quick they're coming, talk about something else" Garcia said quietly

Aaron was starting to get tired from all the walking they had been doing and so when they returned to the table he sat close to Spencer and leaned against his arm. Spencer gave JJ a surprised look and put his arm around the small boy and pulled him close into his side.

Hotch didn't really mind being cuddled that much and right now he was too tired to care about being babied. As the others finished their lunch Aaron tried to stay awake but couldn't keep his eyes open. Reid pulled Hotch into his lap so his head was resting against his chest and wrapped his arms around him.

"So it looks like its nap time" Garcia observed as she quickly took some photos of the adorable duo.

"You guys go ahead and look around, I'll sit here and let Aaron have a rest and then we can catch up with you" said Spencer quietly

"No" Rossi said standing up "we will all stay together, I'll go and get some coffee for us all"

They all sat talking and drinking their coffee for about half an hour until Hotch woke up.

"Hey Hotch, you're awake"spencer said looking down at him.

"Mmm hmmm" came the quiet reply as Hotch spat out his thumb and looked up at Reid.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom again?" Spencer asked

"Yes daddy" he yawned as he stood up on the seat next to Spencer and wrapped his arms around the young man's neck so he wouldn't have to walk. Once he had finished in the bathroom he still wasn't awake enough to walk, "up daddy" Hotch said holding his arms up to Reid.

"Ok buddy, I got you" Spencer said as he picked him up, "I thought that you didn't want me to baby you?"

"I don't but I also don't feel like walking right now, I'm still tired" answered Hotch laying his head against Reid's shoulder

"Oh ok" Spencer answered. After a short while Hotch had regained his energy and was happy to walk with the team and have some more fun.

"Finally" Reid said as Hotch walked off to see what Morgan was looking at "he was starting to get heavy" he laughed

As the team approached Morgan and Hotch, Aaron turned around and ran back to Reid and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the clown making balloon animals.

"Look daddy, balloons!"He cried pointing to the clown.

"Would you like one little man?" the clown asked. Hotch hid behind Spencer's leg, "yes please" he said shyly like he had seen some other kids doing.

The clown made Aaron a giraffe and the team kept walking. Aaron was starting to have fun being a child again, he was getting everything he asked for and didn't have to worry about a thing.

After they had gone on all the rides that they wanted to, the team decided to head home. _"I wonder how Spencer will handle a tantrum?"_ Hotch thought to himself.

As they approached the exit, Aaron pulled on Spencers hand and started yelling,

"DADDY, WE DIDNT GO ON THE TRAIN!" he screamed

"I thought you didn't want to go on the train" Spencer said confused by the sudden outburst.

"I wanna go on the train!"Aaron cried pulling on Spencer's hand, he kept yelling while people around them were starting to stare and Reid and JJ were trying to calm him down. "Ok buddy we will go on the train but you need to calm down, ok?"

Aaron pulled his hand out of Spencer's grip and ran away from the team, slipping easily through the crowd and heading towards the kids rides.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The team chased after Hotch but Spencer reached him first, grabbing the child, he turned him around and gave him a firm swat on the backside.

"Don't you ever run away from me again!"He said quietly but angrily. Aaron looked around at the people watching them and burst into tears. He hadn't really expected Reid to spank him or be so upset with him.

Reid picked him up as the others reached them, "Aaron doesn't you ever run away from mommy again!" JJ said angrily

"I'm sorry mommy" Aaron said in between sobs and buried his face in Reid's shoulder.

"It's ok buddy, daddy's got you" Reid said trying to calm Hotch down before he made himself sick.

"You're lucky that it wasn't me who caught you kid!" Rossi said "you wouldn't be sitting down for a week!"

Putting his thumb in his mouth, he stopped crying and cuddled further into Reid. "Sorry Grandpa" he said around his thumb, peeking up at Rossi

"Cute kid" Rossi said "but not cute enough, you're in big trouble"

"Ok" came a sad reply

"Ok Grandpa, we'll deal with the trouble maker when we get home, let's go" Reid said as he started towards the cars. Once they were in the car they all turned on Hotch,

"What were you thinking running off like that?" JJ started "you could have been grabbed by anyone and taken away from us!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Garcia exclaimed

"I thought you didn't want to be treated like a child but then you go and act like one by running off!" Prentiss added

Aaron could feel the tears building in his eyes again, "I thought it would be funny to see how Reid handled a tantrum. I... I guess it just got out of control" he sobbed as the tears started falling again.

It only got worse when they all arrived home, "so you thought it was funny to run off?" Morgan asked incredulously

"I knew that I was safe with you all there" Hotch replied meekly

"What if someone else had gotten to you first?" Rossi demanded "do you need Reid to give you the statistics of how many children are abducted from public places?"

Reid had been strangely quiet since they returned home. Aaron's bottom lip started trembling as he listened to them lecturing him about his behaviour. As Aaron started crying again Spencer stood up, "ok that's enough for now" he said as he picked up the upset child and carried him upstairs and went into his room and sat on the bed with him in his lap.

"It's ok Aaron, you're ok" he soothed and rubbed his small back until he calmed down.

"Am I in trouble?" Hotch asked quietly "are you going to spank me again?"

"Yes you are in trouble, but no I'm not going to spank you again" Reid answered pulling Aaron away from him so he could look him in the eye. "I'm angry that you ran away from me and you could have been hurt or kidnapped, do you understand that?"

"Yes... I'm sorry" sobbed Aaron "I'm sorry, I won't do it again"

"Thankfully you will be back to your old self soon and then I won't have to worry about that" Reid smiled, "at least then I will know that you can look after yourself"

Aaron stood up on the bed next to Spencer and wrapped his arms around his neck, "I'm sorry daddy" he whispered in Reid's ear. Spencer hugged him back and let out a big sigh, "I suppose that you're forgiven, but I think you owe everyone a big apology"

"You know what, you did me a favour today hotch, you made me see that I never want to have kids" he joked as he pulled Hotch back and looked at him. Hotch smiled shyly at him, "that's better" Reid said, "now let's go and talk to the others"

"no I can't, they're still mad at me" Hotch said sounding every bit like a scared 4 year old and nothing like their normally confident unit chief.

"They'll be ok, you know they're only mad because you scared them, come on" and with that he picked Aaron up and carried him downstairs.

They found them downstairs in Rossi's game room playing pool.

"I think Aaron has something to say to everyone" Reid announced as they walked into the room.

"I'm so sorry everyone, I didn't mean to frighten you all, I shouldn't have run off like that" Hotch apologised

"That's ok kiddo we understand that the child part of your brain just took you hostage for a few minutes and you had no control over yourself" Rossi joked.

"It's ok, don't worry about it, all is forgiven" said Morgan

"Just don't ever scare me like that **ever** again" JJ said reaching for him and giving him a cuddle.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing pool and a few games of poker, when dinner time rolled around they decided to go out and eat.

"Do you think you can behave like a big boy tonight?" Prentiss asked Hotch then laughed as she received a glare in return.

"Table for seven" Rossi said to the hostess at the restaurant as they walked in

"Sure, follow me" she replied happily. "I'll bring you a booster seat for your son" she said as they all sat down.

"Thanks" Reid replied as Aaron climbed onto the seat between him and Rossi

As they finished their meals JJ handed Spencer a pack of baby wipes out of her bag, "I think you'll need these" she laughed

"What?" Said Aaron as the team laughed at him with food all over his face. Reid quickly used the wipes to clean Aarons face and hands.

"Can I get you guys anything else?" the waitress asked, smiling at Reid, as she cleared their plates

"Daddy can I get some ice cream?" Aaron asked smiling up at Reid

"Sure, what flavour do you want?" he asked

"Chocolate please" Aaron said to the waitress

"No worries, I'll be right back" she responded smiling at Reid again

"Whoa pretty boy! The waitress like you" Morgan teased

"She does not" Reid blushed

Aaron thanked the waitress when she brought over his ice cream, "I see your daddy has been teaching you some wonderful manners" she said looking at Reid

"Morgan's right" Prentiss started "you should get her number"

"I don't think so, she's not my type and how would I ever explain that I don't really have a son?" Reid replied looking embarrassed

"We could come up with something to tell her later" Morgan laughed

"Stop teasing him guys, he's not interested" scolded JJ "I'll get rid of her Spence"

Aaron quickly finished his ice cream and the waitress returned with the bill, as soon as she approached the table JJ stood up and held her arms out to Aaron,

"Here baby, come to mommy so I can get you cleaned up" JJ said. After hearing JJ the waitress didn't look at Reid again.

"Thanks JJ" Spencer said as they walked out of the restaurant together with Aaron between them holding their hands.

"You guys are too cute!" Garcia exclaimed as she turned around and took a photo of the three of them

Aaron was nearly asleep when they got home and JJ carried him inside, "Stay awake Aaron you need to have a bath" she said as his head fell onto her shoulder

"I want Spencer" he yawned.

"Daddy you're being summoned!" Morgan laughed as Reid walked through the door behind him.

"Ok I got you" Spencer said taking the boy from JJ and carried him into the bathroom and put him down so he could run the bath water. "Can you get undressed by yourself?"

"Yes I can do it" came a sleepy reply

"Ok then" Reid turned around to give him a bit of privacy and when he was ready he quickly lifted the tired little boy in to the bath. "I'll just wait outside the door so you can have some privacy, but call me when you're done and I'll help you get out, ok?"

"Spencer can you wash my hair?" Aaron called a few minutes later. "Sure buddy" Reid said.

"Do you need help getting dried and dressed?" Spencer asked as he lifted him out of the bath and wrapped a fluffy towel around him.

"No I can do it" Aaron answered as he walked into his room. A few minutes later Aaron came out of his room all dried and dressed for bed. He carried his teddy and held out his arms for Spencer to pick him up.

Reid snapped a quick photo of the adorable boy before picking him up "I think it's time for bed now"

"No" Aaron cried, "I wanna stay up for a bit longer with you!" He pleaded

"Ok, but just for a few minutes" Reid replied carrying him downstairs.

"Hey guys just in time, we are just about to start a movie" Morgan greeted as they came into the room

"Its bedtime Aaron" JJ said "say goodnight to everyone"

"But Spencer said I could stay up for a little while longer" Aaron whined

"Ok then, but only for ten more minute's young man" she smiled

Reid sat on the sofa and put Hotch down next to him, about 5 minutes into the movie, Aaron climbed onto Reid lap and laid back against his chest. Feeling Aarons head dropping forward he looked down to find Hotch asleep with his thumb in his mouth hugging his teddy. Spencer turned him around so that Hotch was facing him with his head on his shoulder and then he laid back a little to make them both more comfortable.

By the time the movie had ended they were both asleep and Garcia had taken a heap of adorable photos. "Wake up Spence" JJ said softly as she woke the young man up. "Do you want me to take him to bed?"

"No I got him, thanks" Reid whispered standing up with a sleeping Hotch in his arms. As Spencer laid him on the bed, Aaron stirred slightly. "It's ok buddy, I'm here" Spencer soothed. He rubbed Aarons back for a minute before he was sound asleep again, "goodnight Aaron" he said quietly as he walked out of the room.

Hotch woke up shaking, he had forgotten that when he was four the first time he had nightmares nearly every night. His parents never let him sleep with them after a nightmare, they just told him to stop being silly and go back to sleep, so he wasn't sure how Reid would react to being woken up in the middle of the night. He was standing at Reid's bedside trying to decide whether to wake him up or not when Reid rolled over and looked at him.

Reid woke up about midnight feeling like someone was watching him and rolled over to see Hotch standing next to his bed with his teddy held to him tightly and his thumb in his mouth.

"What's wrong Hotch?" he yawned, noticing tears running down the small boys face Reid picked him up and snuggled him into his side.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Reid guessed

"Yes... I dreamed that a man grabbed me at the carnival and kidnapped me and then when you all came to rescue me, he killed you all" Aaron sobbed as he buried his face in Reid's chest.

"Shhh... shhhh... it was just a dream Hotch, you're ok, we're all ok" whispered Reid soothingly

After a few minutes Hotch had stopped crying and his breathing told Reid that he was asleep again. Spencer lay there holding him for a while longer to make sure he was really asleep and then carried him back to his own bed and tucked him in. Reid sat in Aaron's room watching him sleep to make sure the nightmares were gone before he eventually went back to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to the people that have left me a review, it's very much appreciated and I love reading them.**

Chapter 11

So far being 8 was much better than being a small child, he could finally do things for himself again, like go to the bathroom and he could walk down the stairs without needing someone to hold his hand! The only bad thing was the clothes that Garcia had brought for him; they all had superheros on them!

"Hotch; do you want to come for a run with me?" JJ asked him as she saw him coming down the stairs

"Yeah sounds good" he replied. Hotch loved running and found it a good way to clear his head. As an 8 year old he found that he had a lot more energy than normal and he felt like he could run all day.

"We should run together more often" JJ suggested as they returned to the mansion.

"Yeah that was good fun" replied Aaron as he walked into the kitchen, "I'm starving, what's for breakfast grandpa?" he joked.

"What would you like brat" Rossi laughed

"Can I have an omelette please?" he requested

"Sure"

"And coffee?" he tried

"Good try but no, tomorrow you should be old enough"

As the girls cleaned up after breakfast they discussed their plans for the day,

"Well the baby photos are ready to be picked up" started JJ "so we should go and get them and then I was thinking we should have a girl's day, get our nails and hair done"

"I've been wanting to get a new colour in my hair!" Exclaimed Garcia

"Ok sounds like a plan then" agreed Emily

"So why the girls are gone, what should we do to fill in the day?" Asked Rossi while he made a fresh cup of coffee

"We could go to the movies?"Suggested Morgan

"Or the museum? Or the library?" Suggested Reid as he kept his eyes on the book in front of him

"Aaron what do you feel like doing?" asked Rossi

"Well there are no movies that I want to see, and I'm sorry Spencer but the museum and library are both boring" he replied

"We could go fishing?" Rossi offered

"That's boring too!" complained Aaron

"There is a new go cart track that just opened? We could go and try that out I guess?" said Reid even though he would be much happier staying home and reading

"Now that sounds like fun! Can we do that?" said Hotch

"Sure thing buddy" Rossi answered ruffling Aaron's hair

They were joking and making bets about who would be the better driver as they arrived at the go cart track.

"Pretty boy you drive too slowly, you'll never catch me!"Morgan boasted

"Well you weigh more than I do so in theory my car should be able to go quicker without all that extra weight slowing me down" Spencer retorted

"If that's the case then I'll definitely win!" exclaimed Hotch jumping in the air

"Settle down children" Rossi laughed "we all know that I'm the best driver"

Once they were in their jumpsuits they all raced to the cars, Aaron reached the red one first "woo hoo! I'm going to win because red goes faster!" he yelled triumphantly. The others laughed as they choose their cars.

"Beep beep grandpa" Morgan yelled as he sped past Rossi and got right behind Reid "look out pretty boy I'm going to overtake you!"

No way is Morgan beating me this time, thought Reid as he did everything he could to stop Morgan getting in front of him. As he swerved to cut Morgan off they collided, sending them both into the wall. "Damn it pretty boy, you let Aaron get in front of us!"Morgan said as he watched Hotch speed past them both while laughing loudly "get off the road old people!" he yelled

"He's going to pay for that" Morgan said as they fixed their cars and took off after hotch

They sped around the track for the next hour and at the end Hotch had won the most laps and was crowned champion of the day

"Woo hoo, told you guys I would win!" he laughed happily "losers are buying ice cream!"

"I think we should have lunch first" suggested Reid "JJ would kill us if we let you have ice cream for lunch"

"Yes Dad" Hotch laughed as he climbed into the backseat

After lunch and ice cream they headed back to the mansion. On the way Aaron fell asleep and his thumb drifted into his mouth.

Reid quickly snapped a photo and then gently shook the boy awake. "Aaron we're home now" he said quietly

Aaron opened his eyes, took his thumb out of his mouth and looked at it in disgust

"I think that will be a hard habit to break" Reid observed

"My stupid body has become too used to having a nap, I'm so tired" he yawned while stretching his arms above his head.

"Go and have a rest if you need to, we don't have any plans for this afternoon" Rossi said as he got out of the car and started towards the house

"Sounds good to me" said Aaron closing his eyes and holding his arms out to Reid "daddy can you carry me up to bed? I'm too tired to walk" he said in his best little kid voice

"O...o...ok" Reid stammered

"Just kidding!"Hotch laughed as he jumped out of the car and ran into the house.

"Thank goodness for that" Spencer said to Morgan as they walked inside, "I don't think I could have carried him"

When the girls returned home they found the boys outside at the pool, Reid was sitting next to the pool wearing a bathing suit but reading, Rossi was making margaritas and Hotch and Morgan were in the pool shooting each other with water guns.

"Wow, love the hair baby girl!" Morgan said as he caught sight of Garcia's new red hair.

"Thanks stud muffin" she smiled

While Morgan was distracted Hotch took the opportunity to jump on his back and push him under the water. After a brief moment Morgan popped back up and grabbed Hotch who had been too slow getting away,

"No!" he half yelled half laughed as Morgan picked him up and threw him across the pool, he came back up spluttering "That's not fair, you're bigger than me!" he pouted

"Looks like I win then!" Morgan laughed "if you want a fair fight then get pretty boy to come in!"

"Very funny Derek" Spencer said while continuing to read his book "I'm not in the mood for swimming, I'd rather finish this book"

"Please daddy? Please please please please please please?"Aaron pleaded looking at Spencer with a sad look on his face

"Calling me daddy and looking cute isn't going to work Hotch" Spencer said not looking at Hotch because he knew if he looked at his sad face he would give in. What Spencer didn't realise was that Morgan was sneaking up behind him.

Rossi saw what was happening and walked over to Spencer, "can I have a look at that book Reid?" He said taking the book out of his hands.

"Hey give that back!" Reid said jumping up to retrieve his book, at that moment Morgan grabbed him and threw him into the pool while the others stood around laughing

"I could have drowned Morgan!" Reid said as he came up gasping for air

"Hi dad" Hotch said laughing and swimming away before Reid could catch him. "That was awesome Morgan!"

"I wouldn't have let you drown pretty boy, I just wanted you to join in and have some fun too. Get him Hotch!" Morgan shouted a he jumped back into the pool and they both grabbed their water guns and sprayed Spencer relentlessly.

Reid fought his way through the water towards Hotch until he finally caught him, "no no no no... Morgan help!" Hotch yelled laughing as Spencer wrestled the gun out of his hands.

"Now you ladies see why I needed to make margaritas" Rossi laughed, "who wants one?"

"Yes please" they all answered at once.

Once the boys were completely waterlogged they climbed out of the pool. "Aaron I think you should go and have a warm shower" JJ said looking at the shivering boy

"Ok" he agreed walking into the house

"Do you need help?" she called after him

"No I can do it" came a tired reply

When Aaron came back downstairs Emily was making her self proclaimed 'famous fried chicken' for dinner.

"Hey mini boss man, we were just about to look through the baby photos, wanna come see?" Garcia asked happily

"Sure, I suppose so" Aaron answered sitting at the table.

The chorus of "aww" and "so cute", started as soon as Garcia opened the album. "Look how cute you were my mini man!" said Garcia looking at a photo of Aaron all wrapped up asleep and laying in a basket

"I can't believe you guys did that to me" Aaron pouted "how embarrassing"

"it was adorable hotch" Emily replied holding up the photo of him in a tiny suit laying on top of some file folders, "Look how cute this is!"

"We should put that one up in your office" Garcia said

"No that is not going in my office! How would I explain who the baby is?" Aaron said angrily

"I didn't even know she took this one" JJ said looking at a photo of herself sitting in a rocking chair feeding Aaron.

"awww" the girls gushed, Aaron groaned and crossed his arms on the table and hid his face in them. As they continued looking through the photos Hotch became more and more embarrassed. "The girls are right you were an adorable baby hotch so there is no need to be embarrassed."Rossi said

"Well it IS embarrassing! It didn't happen to you so you don't understand what it's like to be an adult one minute then a baby the next!" Aaron yelled "it was AWFUL!" Aaron shouted as he stormed out of the room.

"Maybe I should go and talk to him" said Rossi following after Aaron. Dave found him downstairs in the game room, "I'm sorry if I upset you, and you're right, I don't know what it's like to be turned into a baby and I sincerely hope I never find out, but you should know that we enjoyed taking care of you. We are a family, and family takes care of each other, I know that if it had happened to any of us you would have done exactly what we did you for."

"I'm sorry Dave; I don't know what came over me. I know that I'm lucky that I had you guys to take care of me, JJ and Reid especially. It wasn't all bad I suppose, I didn't really mind all the cuddling and attention I was getting" Aaron said "the teething was not so nice though, I can't believe how painful that was, and yes you're right if this had have happened to any of you I would have done the same thing you guys have done for me"

"you might think the photos are embarrassing now but I'm sure that you will look at them one day and they will be a nice memory" Dave smiled, "now, let's go back upstairs and find out if Emily has burnt the chicken"

By the time they walked back into the kitchen the photos had been put away and Emily was serving her chicken, which actually didn't look too bad.

"What do you want to do tomorrow Hotch?" Morgan asked as they sat at the table talking after dinner.

"Go back to work?" he asked hopefully

"Sorry kid, not going to happen, I've spoken to Strauss and told her about you're progress but she still wants you to have a full medical check up and psych evaluation done before you can start going on cases again" Rossi explained

"Oh ok" Aaron replied "maybe we could go and see a movie or something then?" he yawned

"It's getting late now, bedtime Aaron" Rossi said looking at the time.

"Yes grandpa" Hotch laughed as he got up and headed towards the stairs.

 **Thank you for reading, please leave me a review.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As expected Aaron woke up the next day and was happy to find that he was 16 now, he quickly found something to wear and went to have a shower. It felt so good to know that he was nearly back to normal; he couldn't wait to get back to work and get his normal life back. His thoughts were rudely interrupted by Spencer's shouting and bashing on the door.

"Come on Hotch! Other people want to have a shower too you know!"

Reluctantly he got out of the shower and quickly got dressed before heading downstairs, the first thing he did was to make himself a coffee.

"That's soooo good" he murmured to himself as he took a sip. Aaron decided that he should make breakfast for everyone as a thank you for taking care of him. He got everything out of the fridge and started cooking just as JJ entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, breakfast will be ready soon" he greeted her

"Smells good, do you want a hand?" she asked making herself a coffee

"No thanks I can handle it, it's to say thank you to everyone for looking after me" he explained

"Yeah all those cuddles were rough" she laughed "I don't know how I survived!"

One by one the others made their way into the kitchen and helped themselves to coffee while he Aaron finished making breakfast.

"I was thinking today, because you are older now we could all go and have a few rounds of paintball?" Morgan suggested

"That sounds great!" agreed Prentiss

"So, boys versus girls?" Rossi said after they arrived and were getting ready to start

"I don't think that's fair" started Prentiss "there are more of you and Penelope hasn't had any experience shooting a gun, so I hardly think that would be a fair fight! Sorry Pen" she said to Garcia

"That's ok, I probably will suck at this but the point is just to have fun!" she smiled "I'm sure my chocolate thunder will join our team and help me out" she said smiling at Morgan

"You know what baby girl, we'll give you our best marksman to help you out, go on Aaron, mommy needs you" he laughed pushing Hotch towards the girls

"Fine Morgan, I'll join the girls team but don't cry when you lose!" he replied confidently

They all ran off and took up defensive positions around the paintball course, while they all tried to shoot each other. After a few minutes Hoth hit Morgan first, "ha-ha told you that you would lose!" he shouted. After about 20 mins it came down to a shoot out between Hotch and Spencer.

"You can take him pretty boy!" shouted Morgan. Finally Hotch shot Spencers leg while he was diving for cover.

"Hey Morgan, was that fun for you?" Hotch asked

"Laugh it up Hotch but that was only round one" Morgan replied

"Bring it on!" Aaron shouted as he ran off through the course.

After a few hours and several rounds of paintball, which the girls had won the majority of, it was time to go and have lunch.

"Losers are paying for lunch" Garcia declared

"Fine" agreed Rossi "but next time Morgan is going to the girl's team"

"Hey it's not my fault that Aaron is still the best shot" Morgan said defensively

They finally agreed to eat at a small cafe and as they sat down a young waitress approached their table and handed them all menus.

"Hi I'm Aimee, I'll be your waitress today, can I start you off with some drinks while you look over the menu?" she said happily

"I think we will all need coffee to start with" Rossi answered

"Ok I'll be right back" she smiled as she went to get the coffee. A few minutes later she returned with their drinks, "Have you decided what you would like to eat yet?"

"I'll have a burger and fries" Said Rossi

"I'll have the same" said Morgan

"I'll have the chicken salad" ordered JJ

"I'll have a toasted chicken sandwich" said Prentiss

"Oh that sounds good I'll have one of those too" said Garcia

"I'll also have a burger and fries" said Reid

"Ok and what would you like?"Aimee said smiling at Hotch

"I'll have a burger and fries too thanks" Aaron answered smiling at her. Aimee blushed and wrote down his order before walking away.

"Oh we have a young lady killer" teased Morgan leaning over to ruffle Aaron hair

"I think she's a bit young for me Morgan" he replied quietly

"Not today she not" he laughed

When Aimee returned with the food she kept looking at Hotch who was trying not to notice but ended up looking at her and smiled again before they both turned bright red and Aaron turned his attention to the food in front of him.

"What's wrong Hotch, she's cute" Prentiss teased.

When they had finished their lunch and stood up to leave, Aimee approached Hotch. "Hey my shift is over and I was wondering if you wanted to get a coffee with me?" she asked quietly

"Ummmm..." he started as he tried to think of a polite way to say no

"It's ok with me if you want to go honey" Emily said coming to stand next to him and making it impossible for him to say no

"Yeah ok" he said to Aimee "that would be nice". Aaron turned to Emily so his back was to Aimee and gave her a glare. "Mum, can I borrow some money?"

"Sure honey" she replied getting out her purse and handing some cash to him "just call me when you are done and I'll come and pick you up, ok" she said as she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Have fun!" she said as she turned her back to him and ushered the rest of the team out the door.

As soon as they were outside and out of earshot they all started laughing. "He's going to kill you, you know"JJ laughed

"I know but that was too good an opportunity to pass up" she replied laughing

Aaron turned back to Aimee as the team walked out, "they all seem nice" Aimee observed

"Yeah they're great when they are not embarrassing me" he smiled

"So are they all your family" she asked as they sat down at a smaller table

"Kind of" started Aaron "Emily is my mum and the others all work with her, the team is like a family"

"That's cool, so is your dad part of the team too?"

"No, my parents are divorced" Aaron said thinking quickly, "I live with my dad and I'm just here visiting my mum while she had a bit of time off work"

"Oh ok, so do you want to have coffee here or go somewhere else?" Aimee asked

"Here is fine", Aaron started "how long have you worked here?" he asked politely trying to think of what teenagers talked about

"Only a couple of months now, but I'm enjoying it, I like meeting new people" she smiled

"Do you have a job?" she asked Aaron

"No not at the moment, I'm just concentrating on school" he replied

"That's cool, what do you want to do when you finish school?" she inquired

'I'm not sure; I'll probably join the FBI like my mother. What about you?"

"Wow! The FBI? That would be exciting! I was thinking that I might try acting or if that doesn't work out maybe ill become a vet or a teacher" she laughed "I'm really not sure yet"

They soon finished their coffee and Aaron paid the bill and was preparing to say goodbye.

"Well this has been really nice but I should probably go..." he started

"Oh ok, if you have to go that's fine but I was thinking that we could go and see a movie or something?" she asked shyly

Aaron didn't really want to lead her on knowing that he would be back to normal soon but he also couldn't think of a believable reason to say no, "let me call my mom and make sure she doesn't mind if I'm out a bit longer" he said hoping that Emily would give him an excuse to say no.

"Prentiss" Emily answered when her phone rang

"Hi mom" Aaron said trying to sound happy

"Hi honey, do you want me to come and get you?" she said as she put the phone on speaker so they could all hear the conversation.

"well Aimee just asked if I wanted to see a movie but I just wanted to check if that's ok with you?" he started "I know that you might already have made plans for us to spend time together tonight" he hoped that Emily would pick up his subtle hint

"No honey, no plans, you go and enjoy the movie and ill pick you up after ok?" Emily said smirking into the phone

"Ok thanks mom" Aaron said trying to sound happy then he lowered his voice to a whisper, 'I hate you" was all he said and then he hung up.

Emily was laughing when she hung up the phone, "my son hates me" she said acting upset then burst out laughing

"He is _really_ going to kill you now" JJ laughed

"Yeah maybe but he needs to have a bit of fun, Hotch never has any fun, it's all work, work, work" Emily replied.

Emily's phone rang again a few hours later, "Prentiss" she answered automatically

"Hey mom, it's me, can you please come and pick me up?" Aaron asked

"Sure honey I'll be there soon" she replied. "Can I come with you to pick him up?"Asked Garcia as Emily hung up the phone

"Sure, let's go" said Emily.

As Emily pulled up outside the movie theatre she spotted Aaron and Aimee waiting for them.

"Do you need a ride home too Aimee?" she asked

"Yeah that would be great thank you" Aimee answered as she and Hotch climbed into the car.

"I'm Aaron's mom, Emily" Prentiss said introducing herself

"And I'm his aunt Penelope" said Garcia brightly

When they pulled up at Aimee's house the ladies said their goodbyes, "it was nice to meet you Aimee, Aaron walk her to the door"

"Ok I'll be right back" he said getting out of the car

The girls watched as they walked up to the door and said goodbye. Aimee leaned in like she was going to kiss him but Aaron got in first and kissed her on the cheek then quickly headed back to the car.

"awww, so cute!" Garcia exclaimed "such a gentleman" Prentiss laughed

"I hate you both!" Aaron aaron said glaring at them. They just laughed as Aaron pouted in the backseat silently the rest of the way.

As soon as they walked into the mansion they all started asking questions,

"How did the date go champ?" Morgan laughed

"Did you have fun?" asked JJ

"Did she kiss you?" teased Rossi

"It was fine" Aaron said as he glared at them all but the team just laughed.

"She tried to kiss him when he walked her to the door but she only got a peck on the cheek" laughed Garcia

"You do realise that I hate you all and in a few days we will be back at work, and I'll be back in charge? Say hello to working every weekend until further notice!" and with that he marched out of the room to the sound of his teams laughter and and went upstairs and slammed his bedroom door shut behind him.

"It was so cute" Garcia started "it will be worth the extra work he gives us"

Aaron stayed in his room that night, he didn't feel like any more teasing from the team, he couldn't believe that they had forced him to go on that date, poor Aimee would probably be expecting him to call her or add her on facebook or something.

Just as Aaron was starting to fall asleep he heard a faint knock on the door, "come in" he said sleepily

"Did I wake you?" Reid asked as he walked in

"No" Aaron answered

"Oh good, I just wanted to make sure that you were ok? And to see if you were hungry or needed anything?" Said Reid

"No I'm fine thanks" Aaron replied rolling over with his back to Spencer.

"Ok then, goodnight" Reid said as he headed back out the door.

"Good night Reid, thanks for checking up on me" Hotch yawned as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to lilyflower101 and hippiechic81, for reviewing the last chapter**

 **Sorry it's been so long between updates but the story is now finished, thanks to everyone who has read it and left reviews I really appreciate hearing what you all think.**

"Good morning Aaron" Rossi greeted as Hotch walked into the kitchen the next morning

"Good morning Dave" Aaron replied

"I'm sorry about last night," Dave started "we shouldn't have teased you about your date"

"That's ok, I over reacted, I guess I'm just ready to be back at work and start getting my life back to normal"

After the team had finished breakfast they decided that they would all head back to their own homes and get ready to return to work the next day. Once they were all packed Aaron asked Rossi for a lift home, " I can take you" JJ offered over hearing their conversation,

"Thanks JJ" Hotch replied

As they were getting into the car, Garcia came running out and handed Hotch his small brown bear, " here sir, don't forget this" she smiled

"Thanks Garcia"

They rode most of the way in silence while Hotch contemplated what life would be like now, if this experience had changed the team dynamics at all.

He knew that being at home alone would probably take some getting used to after living with them all.

" you're quiet today, is everything ok?" JJ asked

"Sorry, yeah I'm fine just thinking about everything that's happened" he replied "and thinking about getting back to work tomorrow, I'll be surprised if I can even see my desk through all the paperwork that's sure to have piled up"

" yeah hopefully we all get some time to clear our paperwork before we get sent on a case" she replied as she turned into Aaron's driveway

They sat in awkward silence for a moment before Aaron spoke "thanks again for everything that you did for me, I really do appreciate it"

"You don't have to thank me Hotch, that's what family does" she replied smiling at him

Aaron smiled at her and watched her drive away before heading inside. Hotch unpacked his bag, made himself a cup of coffee and went to sit on the couch. The house was so quiet it was almost eerie, Hotch had always enjoyed the quiet of his apartment but after the last few weeks he just found it unsettling.

In the morning Hotch had a shower and quickly finished his morning routine before heading to the office. Once he arrived he went straight to see Chief Strauss.

" thank you Chief Strauss for handling my unique situation with such an open mind." Aaron started " not many people would have believed what happened"

" that's ok agent Hotchner, I knew it was you as soon as you looked at me, no normal baby could give a look like that" she smiled "I'm glad that you and your team are back and ready to work but you will still have to have a psychological evaluation to ensure you are ready to be back after your experience. You have your first appointment this morning so make sure you are on time"

"Of course" Hotch replied as he left her office.

"I need coffee" Aaron mumbled to himself after taking one look at his file covered desk.

As he walked into the kitchen he saw JJ and Reid standing very close together and talking quietly, he made a mental note to keep an eye on them and make sure nothing inappropriate was happening while they were working, then cleared his throat to announce himself. Hotch almost laughed at the guilty way they jumped back from each other

"Good morning" he said with a smirk as he went about making himself a coffee

"Good morning Hotch, how are you feeling?" JJ asked

" I'm fine thanks, and after I've had coffee I'll be ready to tackle my mountain of paperwork, you?"

" fine thanks, it was weird being home alone last night, I kept waking up and listening to hear if you were crying, before I remembered that was over now" she smiled

"I think it will be awhile before everything goes back to normal" Hotch replied " but for now it's time to get to work"

The rest of the team greeted him as he walked through the bullpen, " lets get to work guys" he said cutting off all their questions " we'll all go out for lunch and catch up then ok?"

After a few hours of work and one psych evaluation later it was finally time for lunch, once they had all ordered their meals, Aaron started the conversation

"To answer all of your questions, I'm fine, yes it's good to be back to normal, yes it's good to be back at work and lastly, yes I passed my psych evaluation so we can start going out on cases again." He smiled "and yes it was weird being home alone last night and not having anyone to tell me when to go to bed" Hotch laughed

"That's fantastic Hotch" said Rossi " I know how you feel, the mansion feels really empty now without you all"

" I really need to thank you all so much for everything you all did for me. I could never ask for for a better family support system than you guys, and I am extremely grateful for that" Aaron said as the food arrived putting further conversation on hold while they ate.

Rossi spoke first "I think I can speak for all of us when I say that you are very welcome, and we know that you would have done the same for any of us if we were in your position" the rest of the team nodded their agreement

"I also want to apologise for the day at the carnival, now that I'm back to my old self I understand why you were all so mad at me but at the time I was just having fun" Hotch said looking over at Reid

"That's ok Hotch, from what I've read it was typical child behaviour. All kids try something like that" Reid answered.

Just as they finished lunch Hotch got a phone call from Strauss.

"Looks like we have a case, wheels up in 30"

 **The end.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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